The first Release Candidate for React 17 is now available. The new update doesn't come with new developer-facing features, but instead is about making it easier to upgrade gradually. As a result of the changes, it will now be possible to upgrade your app to future React versions either all at one, or piece by piece.

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• While the updates could impose breaking changes, the React team says it only changed fewer than twenty components out of 100,000+, so it shouldn't be too hard to smoothly upgrade.
• To enable gradual upgrades, React changed how React attaches events to the DOM under the hood. Event handlers will be attached to the root DOM container into which a React tree is rendered.
• Some other React 17 updates: onScroll event no longer bubbles, removal of the “event pooling” optimization, effect cleanup function runs asynchronously.

Repl.it kicked off its first Programming Language Jam hackathon. Participants have until Aug. 31 to build their own programming language for a chance at winning $10,000 as the grand prize. The winner's language will also be added to Repl.it for users to code in.

More:

• Repl.it offers these tutorials and templates to help you get started if you don't have experience making languages: Making your own programming language with Python / Making your own programming language with NodeJS.
• Judges include Jordan Walke, the creator of React.js and the Reason programming language.
• Register here.

DEV MASTERCLASS WITH KENT C. DODDS: Kent C. Dodds is a former JavaScript engineer at PayPal , popular teacher, and a Google Developer Expert often considered one of the best JavaScript experts to follow on Twitter who writes about web development at egghead.io, Frontend Masters, TestingJavaScript.com, and EpicReact.Dev.

Today, Dodds shares with us the critical JavaScript features he recommends you learn so you can effectively build apps with React:

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The latest version of text editor Emacs has been released. Some highlights from Emacs 27.1:

• Native support for JSON parsing
• Built-in support for arbitrary-size integers as well as the tab bar and tab-line
• Support for resizing and rotating of images without ImageMagick and support for XDG conventions for init files
• Lexical-binding is used by default 

For more details about new changes introduced in this release, click here.

Open-source Python-based CMS Wagtail 2.10 has been released. Some highlights:

• Django 3.1 support
• Modernized JS tooling
• More webp support,
• A configurable workflow system
• Search query expressions
• Design overhaul of the page editor
• Improved PostgreSQL search ranking

The team says it should be easy for all to upgrade, except for those still using the no longer supported Python 3.5. To read a detailed list of changes, check out the release notes.

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Mozilla, which develops the Firefox browser, told employees on Tuesday that it is cutting 250 jobs, roughly 25% of its workforce. Mozilla is changing its focus from free products to subscription-based services and is dedicating $43m to building new products.

What products will Mozilla build?

• Mozilla would like to rely less on revenue from search partnerships and instead create more revenue channels. In 2018, about 91% of Mozilla’s royalty revenues came from search contracts. The organization is still committed to the emerging IoT space, but is changing its focus from commercial products to emerging technologies. 
• Over the course of the last few months, it started testing a number of new products, most of which will be subscription-based once they launch. One of its primary focuses is the Firefox Private network and a VPN service which will cost customers $4.99 per month.

Three rounds of layoffs

• This isn’t the first time Mozilla has made bold moves in favor of innovation. In 2017, Mozilla abandoned its connected devices initiative and laid off 50 people.
• In an attempt to stay relevant, it expanded into other categories, by launching products in developing markets such as Firefox OS, a mobile operating system designed to bring low-cost handsets. 
• Furthermore, in January of this year, it laid off 70 employees, including all of the Quality Assurance (QA) staff. All laid-off employees received generous exit packages and outplacement support.

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Quick Hits:

• JetBrains released a beta for Space, a platform that acts as an integrated team environment designed to help developer teams better organize, communicate, plan, and build and deliver products. 
• China is blocking encrypted HTTPS traffic that uses TLS 1.3 with ESNI enabled.
• The fittest athletes in the world swear by CBD. See what they're using here. *

* This is sponsored content. 

📅  (UPDATED) What's Happening This Week: Upcoming Virtual Events and Hackathons.

VIRTUAL EVENTS:

AUG. 13-14: JavaScript and Friends Conference, a not-for-profit virtual conference for JavaScript developers of all experience levels featuring workshops and talks covering JAMSTACK, WebAssembly, Azure DevOps, React, keeping code "young," testing complex interfaces, and more.

HACKATHONS:

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