Developer Break: PHP releases, Boris, MPEG1 decoding in JavaScript

Catch up on the smaller but important notes for developers, from libraries to APIs and from people to posts. In this edition: PHP releases, Team Foundation Server 2012 Power Tools, CMMN 1.0 gets standardised, REPLs for PHP and C#, Jelastic integration with NetBeans, and an MPEG1 decoder written in JavaScript.

Languages and tools

• Microsoft has released the second update for its Team Foundation Server (TFS) 2012 Power Tools. The release follows approximately a month after the second update for Visual Studio 2012 and Team Foundation Server 2012. The changes in the release are of a rather minor nature.

• The Object Management Group (OMG) has adopted the beta specification of the Case Management Model and Notation (CMMN) 1.0 as a standard. It defines a common meta-model and notation for modelling and graphically expressing a case, as well as a format to exchange case models between different software tools.
  

Open source languages and tools

• Along with the release of PHP 5.4.15 and 5.3.25, which briefly disappeared off the project's mirror servers due to a temporary glitch, the first release candidate of PHP 5.5 is now also available. The release candidate status signifies that, from now on, no new features should be expected in the development version of the scripting language.

• Boris is a REPL (read-eval-print loop) for PHP. The software allows developers to experiment with PHP code interactively in a terminal, just like they are used to with Python, Ruby and Clojure. Boris can be installed with Packagist or directly from GitHub. Details of how to install and use the software are available in its README file.

• And for C# users who want a REPL of their own in their IDE, Glen Block's scriptcs, which allows C# to run as a scripting language, now has its own integrated REPL.

Services and SDKs

• The Jelastic Platform as a Service (PaaS) for Java and PHP applications now integrates with Oracle's open source NetBeans IDE.

Developer fun

• Phobos Labs has released an MPEG1 decoder that is implemented completely in JavaScript. The developer says the performance of the code "is quite okay-ish", with a 320x240 video playing back at 30fps on an iPhone 5. The source for the project is available on GitHub and a demonstration that plays the first few minutes of Big Buck Bunny is provided as well.
  

(fab)