🪅 Heap Heap Hurray Ed. #208

Happy Thursday! Let's give it our all today!

#Whisk - Google released another AI-powered tool, Whisk, in over 100 countries, letting users remix three images into one creation. Weirdly, India is not one of those 100 countries. We wonder why… 🤔 

Physicswallah's Pre-IPO Funding Round Pushes Valuation To $3.7 Billion
PhysicsWallah (PW) is poised to become India’s most valuable edtech firm with a $25 million secondary funding round led by existing backer WestBridge Capital. With the latest funding, PW’ post-money valuation is set to surpass Unacademy ($3.4 billion) and Eruditus ($3.1 billion).

Google Sets Date For I/o 2025 Developer Conference
Google's annual I/O developer conference will take place on May 20 and 21. The company will hold an in-person component at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in California. It will overlap with Microsoft's Build conference, which will run from May 19 to 22.

Adobe Firefly - Introduces Generate Video (beta) feature, allowing users to create video clips based on text prompts or image inputs with control over camera angles and visual elements.

The MOST Starred JS Projects - This should have probably been a link to a blog, but this YouTuber created a video so here it is. In this video, CJ ranks the top 15 most popular JavaScript tools, libraries, frameworks, and runtimes of 2024. He highlights each project's latest features, releases, and major announcements from the year.

Angular: The Documentary | An origin story - This is about Angular - the javascript framework from Google. AngularJS began as a Google experiment but was initially overlooked by teams like Gmail and Google Maps. It later became a JavaScript powerhouse, but a major overhaul left the community feeling abandoned. After years of efforts to regain its status, Angular is now making a strong comeback, evolving with features like Ivy, Signals, and Wiz, with key figures in the industry shaping its revival.

Engineer Explains: Prompts Are a Programming Language - ShiftMag’s Engineer Explains video series explores key tech concepts with insights from industry experts. In this episode, Matheus Guimares, Senior Developer Advocate at AWS, discusses how prompt engineering and agentic workflows can enhance software development. He explains that while prompts are written in natural language, they function as a programming language for interacting with AI.

Software Development Wisdom
A senior developer shares their philosophy on avoiding ground-up rewrites, aiming to be 90% done in 50% of the available time, and automating good practice to maintain code quality and reduce technical debt.

Linting Vs Type Checking: Understanding Eslint And Typescript
ESLint and TypeScript are two popular tools used in JavaScript development, but they serve different purposes. ESLint is a linter that detects potential issues and enforces coding standards, while TypeScript is a type checker that ensures type safety and prevents type-related errors. Understanding the differences between these tools can help developers improve code quality and reduce errors.

Boring Tech Is Better Tech
The author argues that "boring" tech, characterized by predictability and maturity, is often better than new, shiny tech. Boring tech has been extensively tested, optimized, and understood, making it less prone to surprises and edge cases.