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Adding Syntax Highlighting to Code Snippets in your website

This Philly conference scans the horizon of what’s next in enterprise technology

If you happened to be looking for your software development team on April 23 or 24, you may have noticed it was very quiet in that part of your office.

That’s because more than 550 Philadelphia-area software developers and engineers were attending the Philly Emerging Technologies for the Enterprise (ETE) conference. This conference has been taking place for nearly 15 years, bringing together committers, practitioners, and founders of open source and emerging tech tools and technologies. It is one of the largest conferences for developers in the Mid-Atlantic and an important learning space for the region’s technology workforce.

Philly ETE is always deep technically, but for technologists — and those who work with technologists — it offers a vital window into the latest trends in enterprise technology.

At the very first ETE in 2005, the hot topic, besides what was new in Java, was open source software licensing. While it may seem quaint now, at the time many companies weren’t sure if they wanted free software in their environments, and it was up to developers to make the case for the flexibility and velocity that open source enabled. Understanding what open source software could do from the developers’ perspective was very important in changing the conversation around software development.

This year’s conference kicked off with an inspiring keynote from Jessica Kerr at Atomist about the concept of “symmathesy,” a term coined by writer and filmmaker Nora Bateson. Throughout history, from Renaissance art and music, through the discovery of the elements, to innovators in the software development like the Gang of Four or the Agile Manifesto creators, there was always a community behind each innovation. Groups of thinkers learning together and challenging each other is what has historically helped us leap forward creatively and scientifically. Symmathesy attempts to describe this sort of collective learning.

Here’s what we learned about this year at Philly ETE:

Machine learning continues to drive product innovation for companies across the board, so naturally, it was a popular topic at ETE 2019. There was an engaging discussion on the engineering practices required to support neural networks in production. Another talk focused on using Google’s Firebase ML Kit for easy integration of machine learning models into mobile apps.

For modern application hosting two popular paths are containerization (using tools like Kubernetes and Docker) and serverless (using tools like AWS Lambda or Azure Functions). This year, we were joined by a Facebook production engineer who described how they manage containers, and we hosted a talk on how Kubernetes and OpenShift can be great choices for hosting Java applications.

As speaker Linda Nichols from Microsoft put it: “Serverless applications are the future of lightweight, scalable, and performant application development.”

We had three different serverless sessions: addressing serverless architecture, choosing a cloud provider, and how developers need to think differently to get the most out of this new programming paradigm.

Some of the most unique talks every year are from engineers and leaders sharing recent experiences with innovation and learning from their mistakes.

One stand-out presentation was about how AirBnB uses server-driven UI for their mobile and web apps. It makes their product more flexible and speeds up the rate at which they can improve the customer experience. Another excellent talk titled “Getting out of Cloud Jail” described how cost savings should be a joint product and engineering responsibility. It included lessons learned, from migrating to the cloud and paying a heavy price for failing to closely monitor public cloud usage, building a data deletion system, to adjusting cloud-platform usage as scale needs increase and decrease.

Noopur Davis, chief information security officer at Comcast Cable, shared how the company is adopting a DevSecOps (development, security and operations) framework that empowers developers to analyze, learn and improve the security of the systems they own. Davis said the approach is extremely valuable in developing products where security is truly built in, rather than bolted on.

There were sessions about AR,VR, and voice interfaces and when it’s the right time to add them to your product offering, as well as a talk by Chariot Solutions’ CIO discussing new developments in IoT microchips that are making connected devices cheaper and more powerful. Chariot even incorporated an AR feature in the conference’s mobile app.

There are always new programming languages emerging and gaining popularity. This year, experts discussed Rust, Go and Zig. Each language promises advancements in application speed, stability or code simplicity, but to different degrees. Attendees heard from the creator of Zig, who described the advantages of their new language over the competition.

Chariot’s training and mentoring director delivered a talk on GraphQL, discussing how this API could be used as a replacement for plain REST and enhance the capacity for self service. He discussed various client and server APIs and tooling, as well as the query language itself.

True to ETE’s roots, there was even a talk on Java. A keynote from Java language architect Brian Goetz explained how the choice between functional and object-oriented programming is really a false choice — we need to borrow good ideas from all languages to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

The Philly ETE conference brings the biggest names in tech from around the country right into the heart of Philadelphia. It’s a chance to learn about the languages, tools, and practices you or your engineering teams will be using soon, if you aren’t already. The diversity of the topics and speakers makes it a great place to get out of your bubble and explore topics you might not otherwise be digging into. Overall, it’s the intimate size and strong sense of community that brings attendees back year to year.

Chariot Solutions is proud to be able to host and curate this conference. And we would be remiss if we didn’t thank our sponsors, the Meet Group, Lutron, Pinnacle 21, Linode, Atomist and Comcast Cable for helping to make this event possible.

This Philly conference scans the horizon of what’s next in enterprise technology

DIY Retro Gaming Handheld Is As Fun To Build As It Is To Play


This is the GameShell, a retro gaming handheld that I built from a kit. I clipped and trimmed the plastic pieces, inserted the circuit boards, connected the wires and snapped it all together. It plays old games, emulated titles and homebrew software. It’s pleasing that something I built does those things.

The folks at Clockwork did most of the work, to be fair. They created the ClockworkPi, the small development board that powers the GameShell. It’s a small chip powered by a quad-core Cortex-A7 CPU, a Mali GPU and 1GB DDR3 memory. It’s got Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a micro HDMI port to output to a monitor and a slot for a micro SD card for storage. It’s an excellent base for a modestly-powered portable emulator box.

Along with the ClockworkPi, the GameShell also has a 2.7 inch TFT RPG display that runs at 60 frames-per-second. There’s an input board with a directional pad, ABXY buttons and a couple of additional inputs. There’s also a tiny two-channel speaker, a 3.7V 1200 mAh rechargeable battery and an optional row of five additional buttons that can snap onto the back of the GameShell’s case.

I mention these components separately, because that’s how they are assembled. Here’s what comes in the GameShell kit.

It looks like a lot, but it’s really simple. There are four main modules encased in their own plastic housings—the ClockworkPi, controller pad, display and battery. Once assembled, cables connect the ClockworkPi to the three other units. They are stacked within a Game Boy-esque plastic housing, two on two. The speaker bar is plugged into the main bar, and the unit is snapped together.

It’s a simple build that’s hard to screw up. If one were to say, bend the pins connecting the main board to the controller, that might make it harder to get it working. Also, from what I have heard, the screen will not survive being run over by a 470 pound motorized wheelchair. But that’s what replacements were made for, right? Okay, I made a few mistakes, but those were on me, and eventually I wound up with a nice little handheld that I could probably strip down to component parts blindfolded.

Once assembled, the GameShell is a tiny handheld Linux device. The 16GB micro SD card that comes with the kit is preloaded with Clockwork OS, based on Debian 9 ARMhf and Linux mainline Kernel 4.1x. It comes loaded with popular emulator front end RetroArch, and can run up to Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis games quite capably. There’s a standalone emulator for the original PlayStation, which can be hit or miss.

It comes loaded with the original Cave Story. There’s a free version of Doom on it, because any gaming system has to run Doom in some form in order to be validated. It even has a built-in music player, which I will never use.

With its Game Boy look and feel and its pleasantly responsive controls, the GameShell is nice to play games on. I feel like game makers and electronics hobbyists will get the most out of the system. It supports Preset C, Python, Lua, JS and LISP programming languages and supports a slew of smaller-scale game engines, including PICO 8 and LOVE2D. It’s open source hardware, so users are free to take it apart, wire it to other devices and fiddle to their hearts’ content. The studded backplate used to connect the optional five-button input bar to the back of the GameShell is even Lego compatible.

There’s a lot to do with Clockwork’s GameShell. I don’t know if I will ever build a game or program the GameShell into a television remote, but I will always be proud of this quirky little piece of hardware I put together.

DIY Retro Gaming Handheld Is As Fun To Build As It Is To Play

Region baseball teams use advanced technology for competitive edge

On a sunny postseason off day, Andrean's baseball players shuttle as groups between the 59ers' field and the basketball gym.

Up on the east landing, with a veil blocking them off from students shooting around below, senior Matt Lelito lifts up black netting and enters a makeshift batting cage. Sixty feet away, a pitcher superimposed onto a projector screen brings the ball over his head and delivers. The simulator shoots a baseball out of a hole roughly 2 feet tall and 1 foot wide, and Lelito swings.

Meanwhile, Andrean assistant coach Jordan Smolar directs Lelito. First, Lelito gets 10 pitches in a hypothetical scenario: There's a man on third, and Smolar wants a groundball through the right side. Normally, each time Lelito swings, a camera across the plate from him feeds data into a computer screen behind the cage.

The screen shows exactly where the ball would have gone on an actual field, along with its exit velocity, launch angle and more. The machine, known as HitTrax and separate from the simulator, is malfunctioning today. It takes the 59ers back to baseball's dark ages — only three years ago.

Andrean is one of a handful of Region baseball teams to embrace widespread use of technology. Head coach Dave Pishkur and his coaching staff have access to more data than ever, and the team's new pitching simulator has revolutionized their offseason training.

“We've never had the ability in the winter months or when it's a rainy day to face 90 miles an hour, or an 80 mile-an-hour slider that's unhittable, or something like that,” Pishkur said. “Our kids, at the beginning of the year, had difficulties hitting 75 miles an hour, and there's not one kid in our program that can't hit 90 now.”

The 59ers track the same metrics MLB teams regularly work with, but they aren't the only ones. Boone Grove's Jake Gholston and Kouts' Jim Tucker are also in on the shift and hope to remove much of the guesswork associated with player development and in-game strategy.

Kouts uses the gameSense pitch recognition system to train players to determine what the ball will do within 15 or 20 feet after it leaves the pitcher's hand. Tucker said that the program has helped the Mustangs increase their batting average by 75 points since last season.

Tucker got an introduction to cutting-edge technology at the 2018 American Baseball Coaches Association convention in Indianapolis. While perusing booths occupied by companies hoping to sell coaches on their products, Tucker stumbled upon the Marc Pro — a muscle stimulator that Tucker said has helped his players recover during a taxing season.

“A lot of our nine guys will pitch and play the field, and we need them every day,” Tucker said. “I tried it at the convention for just five, 10 minutes and felt the benefits of it. I bought two right on the spot. It's been huge for our program. It doesn't get guys back to 100%, but if they leave the field at like 40% feeling with their arms, they'll come back the next day at 60, 70, 80%.”

Gholston tracks metrics that help him detect even small differences in performance. Two are exit velocity and launch angle, the speed and angle at which the ball leaves the bat. Gholston said he wants to prioritize line drives, and tracking launch angles with machinery like HitTrax allows his staff to know exactly how much players improve over time.

“If it's important, we should measure it,” Gholston said. “It's like MLB front offices — they want a scout's opinion, and they want the analytics side as well. My job is to know the numbers, know what they're doing and see if they're doing what they were doing two weeks ago.”

Advanced data can point toward specific changes players should make in their pitching motions or hitting mechanics, according to Smolar, who operates and gives private lessons at NWI Sports Performance in Crown Point.

One example: The Rapsodo system measures pitching numbers like spin rate — which measures a pitch's rotation speed — and the amount of horizontal and vertical break on pitches. Smolar said a pitcher with a high spin rate will see the ball maintain its plane longer. A low spin rate generally will see pitches sink earlier.

Rapsodo tracks pitching data, such as the ball's spin rate.

Robbie Weinstein, The Times

With that knowledge, Smolar said, pitchers can match their fastball with the optimal arsenal of secondary pitches. Gholston said he even crafts individualized game plans for his pitchers using spin rate.

“This is the best season I've ever had," Wolves pitcher Eddy Schultze said. "I'm so much stronger; (Gholston) has fixed my swing mechanics wise. ... From the beginning we've all trusted coach, and it's working out so far."

Smolar said that before the season he expected Andrean, the Midwest's top-ranked team by Perfect Game, to take a step back after winning the Class 3A state title in 2018. He believes the simulator, however, has made a huge difference.

In 2018, Smolar said he felt Andrean started slowly at the plate. Rain-outs dotted the early schedule, and the 59ers hadn't faced much live pitching in months.

Now, Andrean can come closer to replicating live pitching, even indoors. Players and coaches said the simulator creates a far more realistic experience than when a coach or player pitches from 15 or 20 feet away, and the machine can launch a fastball over 100 miles per hour. It can simulate righties and lefties, plus various arm slots.

Pishkur said the simulator is so popular that alumni who play or played college baseball return to use it.

“I love the HitTrax, but if I had to only take one or the other, I'm taking the simulator,” Pishkur said. “It's like we've got a permanent batting practice pitcher that never has a sore arm.”

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Region baseball teams use advanced technology for competitive edge

G Into Gaming: New charter aims to draw more women into game development

A legacy problem in the games industry, gender diversity is something AAA development has almost always struggled with. According to reports from Putting the G Into Gaming (GIG), an organization seeking to mend the gender disparity in games, only 20% of the industry workforce is female, with an even smaller amount in leadership roles.

“We’re here to find ways the industry can put its foot on the accelerator to make games a go-to career choice for women and girls from all walks of life,” GIG founder and business manager Liz Prince said in a statement.

Now, GIG is doubling down on its efforts to ensure proper representation for women in games with a new “diversity charter” -- announced Thursday -- that aims to light avenues for inclusion previously darkened by bias, unconscious or otherwise.

Development and publishing studios who choose to sign the free charter will receive a number of GIG-developed resources, including diversity benchmarking tools, attraction, selection, development, and retention toolkits, and various benefits from associated PR and marketing groups.

Earlier today, Prince spoke at Casual Connect London about the importance of game studios embracing diversity in order to remain competitive. “From a recruitment perspective it’s really difficult when you keep seeing shortlist after shortlist of men, especially in development," Prince remarked during the panel. "We just need to really accelerate change. There are some amazing initiatives in the games industry already but I just couldn’t help feel that we weren’t getting anywhere fast.”

GIG is pioneering the charter in conjunction with RightTrack Learning, a group specializing in helping companies implement new policies and programs. “In delivering diversity and inclusion training for clients...we have established a strong understanding of the games industry’s specific needs and are excited to pledge our commitment to support businesses signing up to the charter,” RightTrack lead director Claudia Cooney said in a statement.

“Together with RightTrack, we have developed a Charter to showcase those studios who commit to take proactive steps for change and would encourage games businesses to sign up and invest in steps and actions that will diversify and future proof our industry,” Prince said of the partnership.

As of now, it’s unclear which companies are committed to signing the charter, or what impact it will have. GIG’s campaign seeks to do just that via its four focus areas: attracting women from outside the industry into games; supporting women already in the industry; working with schools, universities and parents to promote games as an attractive career option for girls and young women; and providing studios with practical advice on how they can address gender imbalance, regardless of their size.

G Into Gaming: New charter aims to draw more women into game development

Cloud platform Coherence wants to 'democratize' online game development

Playdead co-founder Dino Patti and Unity co-founder David Helgason have unveiled a new online game development platform called Coherence.

Built to help devs of all shapes and sizes realize their multiplayer ambitions, Coherence is pitched as an open, accessible, and lightning-fast cloud platform for "building scalable and persistent virtual worlds."

The technology can be quickly integrated with prominent game engines like Unity, Unreal, and Godot​, and supports multiple platforms including desktop, mobile, and consoles.

It will apparently allow devs to have a working online demo up within a matter of minutes, and has been designed with "performance and streamlined developer experience at its core."

"Coherence gives you all the tools you need to turn your game into a connected interactive experience. You can make anything, from a 4-player game with highly scalable instancing, to a persistent virtual world that holds all your players," reads an explainer.

"Our editor plugin will help you utilize the power of the cloud, even if you have no experience with networked games. It handles everything from setup, data modeling, local and online testing to deployment. Using our SDK, you can dive deeper and custom-fit our technology into existing games.

"All backend processes like player connections, synchronization, simulation, network optimization and scaling are handled automatically. coherence lets you focus on what matters the most."

Patti, who left Limbo and Inside developer Playdead in 2016, will lead the project as CEO, while Helgason will assist the fledgling company in an advisory role.

The platform will launch in 2020, with alpha and beta phases planned for later this year. You can find out more about the project over on the Coherence website.

Cloud platform Coherence wants to 'democratize' online game development