This week’s Java roundup for January 22nd, 2024 features news highlighting: WildFly 31.0.0, Eclipse Store 1.1.0, BellSoft Liberica Native Image Kit, multiple Quarkus and JHipster Lite releases and Jakarta EE 11 updates.
OpenJDK
After its review had concluded JEP 455, Primitive Types in Patterns, instanceof, and switch (Preview), has been promoted from Proposed to Target to Targeted for JDK 23. This JEP, under the auspices of Project Amber, proposes to enhance pattern matching by allowing primitive type patterns in all pattern contexts, and extend instanceof and switch to work with all primitive types. Aggelos Biboudis, Principal Member of Technical Staff at Oracle, has recently published an updated draft specification for this feature.
JDK 23
Build 7 of the JDK 23 early-access builds was made available this past week featuring updates from Build 6 that include fixes for various issues. More details on this release may be found in the release notes.
JDK 22
Build 33 of the JDK 22 early-access builds was also made available this past week featuring updates from Build 32 that include fixes to various issues. Further details on this build may be found in the release notes.
In his weekly Hashtag Jakarta EE blog, Ivar Grimstad, Jakarta EE Developer Advocate at the Eclipse Foundation, has provided an update on the progress of Jakarta EE 11 and beyond. As per the Jakarta EE Specification Process, the Jakarta EE Specification Committee will conduct a progress review of the planned Jakarta EE 11 release and vote on a ballot to approve. If the ballot does not pass, the release date of Jakarta EE 11 could be delayed.
Also, the Jakarta EE Working Group has been thinking beyond Jakarta EE 11 and discussing some ideas for new specifications, such as Jakarta AI. The group has created this Google Doc for the Java community to review and provide input/feedback.
Spring Framework
The Spring Framework team has disclosed that versions 6.1.3 and 6.0.16, released on January 11, 2024, addressed CVE-2024-22233, Spring Framework Server Web DoS Vulnerability, that allows an attacker to provide a specially crafted HTTP request that may cause a denial-of-service condition if the application uses Spring MVC and Spring Security 6.1.6+ or 6.2.1+ is on the classpath.
Version 3.2.1 and 3.1.8 of Spring Shell have been released deliver notable changes: a resolution for the command alias not working on the type level when the subcommand is empty; a split of the JLine dependencies due to issues with native image and to avoid importing classes that may not be needed in an application; and a resolution to the shell cursor not being restored in the terminal multiplexer (tmux) if the shell is hiding the cursor. Both versions build upon Spring Boot 3.2.2 and 3.1.8, respectively. More details on these releases may be found in the release notes for version 3.2.1 and version 3.1.8.
The release of Spring Cloud Commons 4.1.1 has been released featuring a bug fix in which implementations of the Spring Framework BeanPostProcessor interface were not registered correctly when the @LoadBalanced annotation bean was instantiated during auto-configuration. Further details on this release may be found in the release notes.
BellSoft
BellSoft has released versions 23.1.2 for JDK 21 and 23.0.3 for JDK 17 of their Liberica Native Image Kit builds as part of the Oracle Critical Patch Update for January 2024 to address several security and bug fixes. Other notable improvements include: support for AWT and JavaFX fullscreen mode; intrinsified memory copying routines on AMD64 platforms and, where available, they now use AVX instructions for better performance; and SubstrateVM monitor enter/exit routines for accelerated startup of native images.
WildFly
Red Hat has released version 31 of WildFly with application server features such as: support for MicroProfile 6.1, Hibernate ORM 6.4.2, Hibernate Search 7.0.0 and Jakarta MVC 2.1; and the ability to exchange messages from the MicroProfile Reactive Messaging 3.0 specification with Advances Messaging Queuing Protocol (AMQP) 1.0. This release also introduces WildFly Glow, a command line and a set of tools to “provision a trimmed WildFly server instance that contains the server features that are required by an application.” InfoQ will follow up with a more detailed news story.
Quarkus
Red Hat has also released version 3.6.7 of Quarkus with notable changes such as: ensure that the refreshed CSRF cookie retains its original value based on the presence of the token header; dependency management for the Hibernate JPA 2 Metamodel Generator; and a resolution to entity manager issues with Spring Data JPA when using multiple persistence units. More details on this release may be found in the changelog.
Quarkus 3.2.10.Final, the tenth maintenance release in the 3.2 LTS release train, primarily delivers resolutions to CVEs such as: CVE-2023-5675, an authorization flaw with endpoints used in Quarkus RestEasy Reactive and Classic applications customized by Quarkus extensions using the annotation processor; and CVE-2023-6267, an annotation-based security flaw in which the JSON body that a resource may consume is being processed, i.e., deserialized, prior to the security constraints being evaluated and applied. Further details on this release may be found in the changelog.
Helidon
The release of Helidon 4.0.4 delivers notable changes such as: a resolution to the currentSpan() method defined in the TracerProviderHelper class throwing a NullPointerException in situations where an implementation of the TracerProvider class is null; a cleanup and simplification of the logic to determine which type of IP addresses, v4 or v6, to consider during name resolution in WebClient configuration; and security propagation is now disabled when not properly configured. More details on this release may be found in the changelog.
The release of Hibernate Reactive 2.2.2.Final ships with: a dependency upgrade to Hibernate ORM 6.4.2.Final; removal of unused code that caused a ClassCastException in Quarkus at start up; and new annotations, @EnableFor and @DisabledFor, to enable and disable, respectively, tests for database types. More details on this release may be found in the release notes.
The second alpha release of Hibernate Search 7.1.0 provides: compatibility with Hibernate ORM 6.4.2.Final, Lucene 9.9.1 and Elasticsearch 8.12; an integration of the Elasticsearch/OpenSearch vector search capabilities; and the ability to look up the capabilities of each field when inspecting the metamodel. Further details on this release may be found in the release notes.
Versions 15.0.0.Dev07 and 14.0.22.Final of Infinispan ship with dependency upgrades and resolutions to notable bug fixes such as: a flaky test failure from the testExpirationCompactionOnLogFile() method defined in the SoftIndexFileStoreFileStatsTest class; an IllegalArgumentException from within the getMembersPhysicalAddresses() method defined in the JGroupsTransport class; and a NullPointerException due to a failover of the Hot Rod Client hanging. Further details on these releases may be found in the release notes for version 15.0.0.Dev07 and version 14.0.22.
JHipster
Versions 1.3.0, 1.2.1 and 1.2.0 of JHipster Lite have been released to deliver bug fixes, dependency upgrades and new features/enhancements such as: use of the LinkedHashSet class instead of the HashSet class for improved reproducible generated code; use of Signals and Control Flow, new features of Angular 17; and support for Protocol Buffers. More details on these releases may be found in the release notes for version 1.3.0, version 1.2.1 and version 1.2.0.
Testcontainers for Java
The release of Testcontainers for Java 1.19.4 ships with bug fixes, improvements in documentation and new features such as: an enhancement in the exec command that supports setting a work directory and environmental variables; support for MySQL 8.3; and an increase of the default startup time for Selenium to 60 seconds. Further details on this release may be found in the release notes.
Gradle
The third release candidate of Gradle 8.6 provides continuous improvement in: support for custom encryption keys in the configuration cache via the GRADLE_ENCRYPTION_KEY environment variable; improvements in error and warning reporting; improvements in the Build Init Plugin to support various types of projects; and enhanced build authoring for plugin authors and build engineers to develop custom build logic. More details on this release may be found in the release notes.
The federal government is ordering the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business after a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform, but stopped short of ordering people to stay off the app.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne announced the government’s “wind up” demand Wednesday, saying it is meant to address “risks” related to ByteDance Ltd.’s establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he said in a statement.
The announcement added that the government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content.
However, it urged people to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply.”
Champagne’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment seeking details about what evidence led to the government’s dissolution demand, how long ByteDance has to comply and why the app is not being banned.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the shutdown of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of well-paying local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said.
“The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023, but it was not public knowledge until The Canadian Press reported in March that it was investigating the company.
At the time, it said the review was based on the expansion of a business, which it said constituted the establishment of a new Canadian entity. It declined to provide any further details about what expansion it was reviewing.
A government database showed a notification of new business from TikTok in June 2023. It said Network Sense Ventures Ltd. in Toronto and Vancouver would engage in “marketing, advertising, and content/creator development activities in relation to the use of the TikTok app in Canada.”
Even before the review, ByteDance and TikTok were lightning rod for privacy and safety concerns because Chinese national security laws compel organizations in the country to assist with intelligence gathering.
Such concerns led the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a bill in March designed to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business.
Champagne’s office has maintained Canada’s review was not related to the U.S. bill, which has yet to pass.
Canada’s review was carried out through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment with potential to might harm national security.
While cabinet can make investors sell parts of the business or shares, Champagne has said the act doesn’t allow him to disclose details of the review.
Wednesday’s dissolution order was made in accordance with the act.
The federal government banned TikTok from its mobile devices in February 2023 following the launch of an investigation into the company by federal and provincial privacy commissioners.
— With files from Anja Karadeglija in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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LONDON (AP) — Britain’s competition watchdog said Thursday it’s opening a formal investigation into Google’s partnership with artificial intelligence startup Anthropic.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it has “sufficient information” to launch an initial probe after it sought input earlier this year on whether the deal would stifle competition.
The CMA has until Dec. 19 to decide whether to approve the deal or escalate its investigation.
“Google is committed to building the most open and innovative AI ecosystem in the world,” the company said. “Anthropic is free to use multiple cloud providers and does, and we don’t demand exclusive tech rights.”
San Francisco-based Anthropic was founded in 2021 by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, who previously worked at ChatGPT maker OpenAI. The company has focused on increasing the safety and reliability of AI models. Google reportedly agreed last year to make a multibillion-dollar investment in Anthropic, which has a popular chatbot named Claude.
Anthropic said it’s cooperating with the regulator and will provide “the complete picture about Google’s investment and our commercial collaboration.”
“We are an independent company and none of our strategic partnerships or investor relationships diminish the independence of our corporate governance or our freedom to partner with others,” it said in a statement.
The U.K. regulator has been scrutinizing a raft of AI deals as investment money floods into the industry to capitalize on the artificial intelligence boom. Last month it cleared Anthropic’s $4 billion deal with Amazon and it has also signed off on Microsoft’s deals with two other AI startups, Inflection and Mistral.
