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# Dev Digest 122 - Cracks in the polyfill

**By:** [Chris Heilmann](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/@chris-heilmann)

**Published:** July 1, 2024

Hello fellow developer, join us to learn about removing malicious code, what the web is up to and why there are some cool new careers in AI.

## News and Articles

First things first: if you use **Polyfill.io** delete it immediately from your server! The - by now pretty unnecessary library - has been acquired and is used in a [supply chain attack that affected 100K+ sites](https://sansec.io/research/polyfill-supply-chain-attack) injecting malware. This has been warned about some time ago by the [original creator](https://twitter.com/triblondon/status/1761852117579427975), but now it hit the fan.

In a related discussion, **Tim Perry** deemed [public CDNs as "useless and dangerous"](https://httptoolkit.com/blog/public-cdn-risks/) and **Sung Kim** thinks [programmers should not trust anyone including themselves](https://carbon-steel.github.io/jekyll/update/2024/06/19/abstractions.html). The question really is about longevity. How long is the great helper tool that promises you to use tomorrow's features today safe or sensible to use? And - does it matter how big and important the tool is at the time? As an example, Google just [put Material Web Components in maintenance](https://github.com/material-components/material-web/discussions/5642) and I remember those being "safe to use for now and later to build great apps" when they came out.

Talking about the web, the [state of JS results are out](https://2023.stateofjs.com/en-US) and **Patrick Brosset** did a deep-dive [analysing the State of HTML 2023 results](https://patrickbrosset.com/articles/2024-06-10-my-analysis-of-the-state-of-html-2023-results/).

The AI scraper discussion is also far from over as [AI companies bypass web standard to scrape publisher sites](https://www.reuters.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/multiple-ai-companies-bypassing-web-standard-scrape-publisher-sites-licensing-2024-06-21/) as [reported by Reddit](https://www.engadget.com/reddit-puts-ai-scrapers-on-notice-205734539.html) and [verified by other sources](https://blog.zgp.org/perplexed/). It is tricky as [you want to support search bots](https://www.lazaruscorporation.co.uk/blogs/artists-notebook/posts/overlap-between-search-bots-and-ai-scrapers) but not scrapers…

The [Internet Archive was forced to remove 500k books](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/06/internet-archive-forced-to-remove-500000-books-after-publishers-court-win/), which is understandable, but there is [a big group of people who can only read them there](https://blog.archive.org/2024/06/26/disabled-patron-asks-publishers-let-us-read-let-us-learn/) as other book display sites are inaccessible. **Google** has an interesting take as they [donated $5 million](https://developers.google.com/blockly/accessibility-fund) to create inclusive tools and educational programmes. So, if you want to do some good and get some money, why not fix those ePUB/PDF displayers?

## Code and Tools

Today we got two CODE100 challenges for you - solving one gets you A VIP ticket to our World Congress and the other is a test for people to become challengers in the final of CODE100 at the same event. So, on your keyboards, get, set, go!

### VIPs wanted - solve the Twilio CODE100 challenge!

![code100-black](https://wearedevelopers.imgix.net/public/magazine/articles/457/images/667d83ef85262720a51dd1e3_code100-black.png?w=720&fit=max&dpr=2&auto=format)

![twiliodevs](https://wearedevelopers.imgix.net/public/magazine/articles/457/images/667d83ee199673c33d2b8e76_twiliodevs.png?w=720&fit=max&dpr=2&auto=format)

We partnered with **Twilio** to give you a new **CODE100 puzzle** to solve. Check the [README](https://puzzles.code100.dev/puzzles/twilio-vip) and [submit your solution](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSearIbKId401zmHL76RpafiqDgeXFD24u8O3HPC3hmvgst-1Q/viewform?usp=send_form) for your chance to win your WeAreDevelopers World Congress VIP ticket worth \> 1000 Euro!

### Join the other finalists in the CODE100 live event in Berlin

Check out the [100 hits](https://puzzles.code100.dev/puzzles/100hits/) challenge to show us that you got what it takes to compete alongside the winners of CODE100 Zagreb, Amsterdam and Manchester. [Apply now](https://www.wearedevelopers.com/events/code100-challenger)!

![solved-puzzle](https://wearedevelopers.imgix.net/public/magazine/articles/457/images/667d83ee61e66e014c4d19e6_solved-puzzle.png?w=720&fit=max&dpr=2&auto=format)

**Other code news:** [GitHub Copilot in the CLI](https://github.com/github/gh-copilot) is now generally available! I've been using the preview for quite some time and it is amazing. Ask for a shell script, see it and run it immediately. Together with [thef\*ck](https://github.com/nvbn/thefuck), it is command line magic.

**Leah Verou** has naughty hacks to fake [inline conditionals in CSS](https://lea.verou.me/blog/2024/css-conditionals-now/), there's a gallery of CSS [Toggles](https://codepen.io/collection/aMPYMo) but **Adrian Roselli** warns about [under-engineered toggles](https://adrianroselli.com/2019/08/under-engineered-toggles-too.html).

In bonkers code news, you can use [AI to drop hats on people](https://dropofahat.zone/) and [llama.ttf](https://fuglede.github.io/llama.ttf/) is a font file which is also a LLM and an inference engine for that model (what?).

**Some tools for you:**

- [CSS Anchor Tool](https://anchor-tool.com/) is a visual tool to get started with anchor positioning
- [Font Interceptor](https://fontinterceptor.mschfmag.com/) downloads all fonts in use on a target website
- [Flowtest](https://flowtest.ai/?ref=labnotes.org) is am AI agent For QA testing
- [API fiddle](https://api-fiddle.com/) allows you to test APIs

## Videos

![Francesco Ciulla - Building an AI language app at World Congress 2024](https://wearedevelopers.imgix.net/public/magazine/articles/457/images/667d83efd5c06bc75ff443bc_Francesco_Ciulla_YouTube_thumbnail.png?w=720&fit=max&dpr=2&auto=format)

We sat down with **Francesco Ciulla** ahead of his appearance at the World Congress in Berlin later this month. We talked about public speaking, why he's gone all in on Rust, and what we can expect from his session. [See his answers](/videos/911-coffee-with-developers-francesco-ciulla)…

**Other videos of note:**

- **Dmitry Mayorov** - [The Next Big Thing in CSS: margin-trim! (4m)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE01cIWJBko)
- **Olivier Larose** - [My Top 5 Techniques for Web Animation (10m)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eHEOAn2FOA)
- **Josh Clark** - [Sentient Design: AI and the Next Chapter of UX (1h10m)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6SjliHy3eM)
- **Anna Fritsch-Weninger** - [AI’s Impact on Developer Roles (1h)](/videos/900-from-syntax-to-singularity-ai-s-impact-on-developer-roles)
- **Simon Copsey** - [Technology is Necessary, But Not Sufficient (38m)](/videos/880-technology-is-necessary-but-not-sufficient)
- **Austin Gil** - [Full Spectrum File Uploads (36m)](/videos/870-full-spectrum-file-uploads)

## Work and Jobs

A lot has happened in the job world, the [OpenAI CTO says AI kills unnecessary creative jobs](https://www.pcmag.com/news/openai-cto-mira-murati-ai-could-take-some-creative-jobs) but [this hits freelancers hard](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-replace-freelance-jobs-51807bc7?st=qh1hg1h1gosfc8i&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink&utm_source=tldrnewsletter). The CEO of [Anthropic questions universal basic income](https://www.techspot.com/news/103517-anthropic-ceo-universal-basic-income-alone-isnt-enough.html) as a fix for job losses and [half of Dell workers chose to work remote](https://www.techspot.com/news/103486-nearly-half-dell-workers-opt-full-time-remote.html), even though it means no promotions. Shawn "swyx" Wang sees [new use cases and careers in AI](https://www.heavybit.com/library/article/ai-hidden-opportunities-for-software-developers-swyx), Stack Overflow explains that [real 10x developers makes their whole team better](https://stackoverflow.blog/2024/06/19/the-real-10x-developer-makes-their-whole-team-better/) and there is a [spicy take on tech hiring](https://www.haskellforall.com/2024/06/my-spiciest-take-on-tech-hiring.html).

## Procrastination Corner / Wonderful Weird Web

- [Tetris messages](https://erikdemaine.org/fonts/tetris/?text=D66+J%40F+2E+E96+H%40C%3D5+4%40%3F8C6DD&rot=1&speed=6&grid=1&floor=0) as falling Tetronimos (yes, that is what they are called)
- Nintendo [lied about the age of Tetris](https://tetrisconcept.net/threads/june-6-1984.2411/), it is not 40 yet!
- [Moodist](https://moodist.app/?ref=labnotes.org) - create ambient sounds for focus and calm
- [Sans Bullshit Sans](https://www.sansbullshitsans.com/) is a font to automatically censor marketing speak
- Check out some [adorable food](https://ohou.se/users/8132629?ref=labnotes.org)



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