GitHub Copilot now supports multiple LLMs

Picture of a person with a digital brain with multiple coloured waves illustrating the GitHub Copilot AI software development assistant gaining accessing to multiple new LLMs (large language models)

GitHub is bringing more flexibility and choice to Copilot through the integration of multiple large language models (LLMs).

Since its inception, GitHub Copilot has utilised different LLMs for varied uses. The journey began with the deployment of Codex, an early iteration of OpenAI's GPT-3, that was fine-tuned specifically for coding tasks. The evolution continued with the launch of Copilot Chat in 2023, initially using GPT-3.5 and subsequently transitioning to GPT-4. As demands...

Platform engineering is falling short of expectations

Person standing on a downward arrow suggestive of platform engineering falling short of expectations in embedded software.

Platform engineering – lauded for its potential to revolutionise software development with automation, self-service, and streamlined workflows – appears to be falling short of expectations in the embedded software world.

A new study by Forrester Consulting, commissioned by Qt Group, reveals a stark disconnect between the perceived maturity of platform engineering strategies and their actual implementation.

The research – surveying 317 decision-makers and...

Evinced’s accessibility testing solutions triple in adoption 

Evinced, a provider of web and mobile accessibility solutions, saw its customer base triple in 2023 on the back of new prevention-focused tools like Unit Tester and Design Assistant. These innovations allow developers and designers to automatically catch accessibility issues long before release, marking a shift for the industry toward prevention versus post-hoc fixes.

The company’s impressive expansion has cemented its status as a top accessibility vendor, counting 6 of the 10...

Stack Overflow unveils OverflowAI to support developers with AI/ML solutions

At the WeAreDevelopers World Congress in Berlin, Stack Overflow took the stage to reveal six innovative capabilities and features as part of its OverflowAI offerings.

These AI/ML solutions aim o revolutionise the way developers find solutions within their workflows, catering to both the public platform and Stack Overflow's popular SaaS product, Stack Overflow for Teams.

By integrating AI into its platform, Stack Overflow aims to accelerate the growth of GenAI, bringing...

GitHub Copilot will enable developers to code using their voice

A new GitHub Copilot feature will enable developers to code using their voice.

Copilot was introduced last year and uses AI to help speed up mundane coding tasks by suggesting how to complete lines.

Behind the Copilot feature is an AI model developed by OpenAI called Codex. OpenAI claims that Codex has a broad knowledge of how people use code and is “significantly more capable than GPT-3” in generating code.

Microsoft-owned GitHub announced at its annual...

Perforce expands its DevOps portfolio with Puppet acquisition

Perforce is expanding its portfolio of DevOps tools with the acquisition of Puppet, an infrastructure-as-code pioneer.

“This acquisition expands our product offering by adding new capabilities for enterprise DevOps teams to manage and secure their critical infrastructure,” said Mark Ties, CEO of Perforce.

“With Puppet, we will be providing our customers with access to a product portfolio that enables them to drive innovation on a global scale.

“We look...

Niantic acquires WebAR experts 8th Wall to expand metaverse platform

Niantic is continuing its evolution from an AR game developer to a complete platform for building metaverse experiences.

Once upon a time, Niantic was an exciting but relatively unknown company behind the pioneering (and highly underrated) AR game Ingress. Niantic then released Pokemon Go and was catapulted into the spotlight.

The hype around Pokemon Go may have faded but Niantic hasn’t stopped working. The company has been using its experience in live, large-scale AR...

GitHub incentivises open-source investments with sponsor-only repos

GitHub is launching private repositories that only sponsors have access to, helping to incentivise open-source investments.

Open-source mostly relies on developers voluntarily giving up their time to build and improve projects. Priority is naturally given to work that helps to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table—meaning that open-source projects can be underdeveloped at best or be left with devastating vulnerabilities at worst.

A growing number of...

Software supply chain attacks increased over 300% in 2021

We all knew there was an increase in software supply chain attacks in 2021, but a new study has quantified just how bad things got.

Argon Security – recently acquired by Aqua Security – published the latest edition of its annual Software Supply Chain Security Review this week.

The headline stat from Argon’s report that software supply chain attacks grew by more than 300 percent in 2021 compared to 2020.

Eran Orzel, Senior Director of Argon Customer...

GitHub launches preview of improved code search

GitHub is making significant improvements to its code searching experience and has launched a technology preview for an early peek.

The current search index covers more than five million of the most popular public repositories. In addition, developers can also search any private repositories they have access to.

GitHub recommends trying five search functions to see how they could improve your workflow:

Try a simple search and see how the smart ranking and...