#Sandbox Clone Development

[mutalune]

my clone culture headcanon is that they have almost no traditional mandalorian ties, they picked up almost nothing culturally/linguistically from the mandalorian trainers, but the one thing they DID get were endearments/affectionate and-or comforting words/etc.

b/c 1) that was the only way the trainers could somewhat express affection for their favorites without getting dinged for being too attached to them since no one there actually spoke mando’a 2) kaminoans would be Unhappy if the clones expressed affection openly so secret language words were the only way to safely verbalize caring and loving, so they picked up on those few kind words VERY quickly

(The way I see it working is that the trainers had favorites, would occasionally say something like “chin up, hang in there, good job kiddo,” and said favorites picked up those terms without actually ever getting Direct Translations of what they mean. So they get the words and some context but have to jumble it together themselves and pronunciation and meaning change the further away it spreads from the original favorites - because all of this is spread in private, quietly, until it grows its own legs in different iterations with different battalions imho

like they know adding -‘ika to a name is affectionate and feels like a diminutive but they don’t know what it means exactly and sometimes plug it into names in grammatically odd ways, so instead of “Trap’ika” you get “Trapper’ika” which sounds more like “Trapperka” when you’re talking fast.)

(i’m just a fan of gentle soft pet names and showing affection quietly and how love finds a way and how the clones can take what little scraps they were given and make it their own)

[thecartonizer]

Reblog this post with three games that you consider obscure, i will start first:

1) cataclysm

Released for open source development in 2011, cataclysm (or as it's most famous fork is better know, cataclysm dark days ahead) is a sandbox roguelike survival game where you play as a custumizable survivor in a multitude of pre-game scenarios to pick from in a post apocalyptic new england, very realistic (food freezes if it gets cold enough, zombie bites need to be treated with rare antibiotics, etc) though if you preffer a more gamey experience i recommend the bright nights fork, the best part about this game? Its free!

2) space station 13

In open source free development since 2003, ss13 is a online...thing.. sorta like the among us before among us, where usual rounds are like this: you play and unlock a myriad of jobs to pick from before the round starts such as clown all the way up to captain, you do your job, talk with the crew, all the while antagonists such as space wizards, nuclear operatives, traitors, paradox clones etc try to ruin your day and force the captain to call the emergency shuttle, very fun! If a bit old

3) caves of qud

A roguelike sandbox where you play as a traveller recently arrived in qud, a ancient land where fresh water is currency, mutants exist and everything is alive one way or the other, you must survive, get stronger and die a lot, only game where you can be a psychic, transfer your mind to a door and then promply die because someone slammed you too hard, currently in early access on steam as i type this post

[pilebunkers]

What are your thoughts on ALLMIND and why it was created, when, and by who?

Also, one idea I found is here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50935366 where, spoilers, ALLMIND is Walter's mother brought back from the dead by his father, as a way to ensure his goals relating to the coral are carried out after his death.

What do you think?

Sorry for the wait on this! It's a big topic to cover and I had to rewrite and reassemble my thoughts a few times to keep it concise. If the topic jumps seem abrupt, it's because they are. Lmao.

The fic is an interesting concept! I would love to see it pushed into a direction similar to NGE, where some kernel of a related human with an emotional attachment within an AC is needed to fully sync with MIND or RRI tech. Flip Rei's role to make it so that Walter's mother was the blank clone pushed into every Coral-enabled system in order to make it work with human pilots. Use her mind as the AMS template like how Simon from SOMA gets used as the base for even the most rudimentary AIs.

This also makes Walter's insistence on using old, Coral-based mercs even more painful: they're all, in some small way, his mother. "I'll give you a reason to exist" hits differently if you consider how driven Walter is to save humanity from Coral and the fact that he thinks his father abandoned them. If she died senselessly to fuel his father's mad research, then using old gens to stop Coral Release is a means of making sure something good comes from her death. If she tried and failed to stop her husband, it could even be seeing through the task she couldn't and continuing her legacy.

But back to ALLMIND. Let's clear up some definitions first:

There's ALLMIND the agency, which is a data collection scheme disguised as a ratings bureau and regulatory body for the corporations. It's a real brick and mortar organisation with real human employees that really runs the Arena and really registers and tracks mercenaries and really produces and distributes those parts and OS tuning chips. They have datacentres and network nodes on every human station and and in every human settlement.

(And a few on non-human stations, too. Gotta keep the mainbrainframe secure!)

Most people, when referring to ALLMIND, mean the agency as a whole simply because they don't really know there's anything else.

Kate Markson is a real human but perhaps not an independent entity in the way Sulla and Iguazu get integrated into ALLMIND. To say anything else would spoil a fic I'll write, like, a year and a half from now.

ALLMIND the NHP (Non Human Person), the artificial intelligence we speak with throughout AC6, is what I imagine you're actually asking about and is where the fun and mystery live. Let's talk about that.

Briefly backtracking to SOMA, how the WAU struggles to find a clear means of achieving its goal of "protect humanity" without someone to guide it partially inspires my own idea of ALLMIND. Maybe it was, once upon a time, given the task of "improve mercenaries" and has been trying every possible way it can think of to achieve it. The original developers are gone. The knowledge is lost. ALLMIND the organisation exists to maintain and connect network nodes where they find them, but nobody knows what it's really doing or why.

ALLMIND doesn't know either, despite its insistence otherwise.

To point to VD again, I see ALLMIND as the organisation equivalent of a Tower, with tech and a legacy so older that the inner workings are forgotten to everyone but what's still inside.

I love the cyclical nature of Armored Core and want to work it into my little sandbox any way I can. Humans leave Earth for the first time to colonise Mars and a violent earthquake triggered by terraforming reveals caches of technology both alien and impossibly familiar at once. The Xylem takes its 30 year voyage to Rubicon and finds a decrepit station in a slowly-decaying orbit falling into the star.

And wherever humanity first treads, ALLMIND agents are among them. With uncannily savvy engineers who catalogue and operate the ancient machines like they use those systems every single day.

[merlyn-bane]

Fic Writer 20 Questions

Thanks for the tag, @frostbitebakery !!🥰🥰🥰

1.) How many works do you have on ao3

35, but that also includes some of pyro's that I'm listed as co on because I helped with so much of the plotting out and behind the scenes stuff

2.) What's your ao3 word count?

336,631

3.) What fandoms do you write for?

Right now primarily Star Wars bc that's where my brainrot is, but I've been known to play around in a few other sandboxes. There are a few Star Trek fics on my AO3 as well, and there's a multifandom xreader sideblog floating around somewhere that I am not going to tag because I consider it a Different Era and not reflective of the work I'm doing now. Even though I'm STILL getting notes on a Wolverine smut fic I posted all the way back in 2018.

4.) What are your top five fics by kudos?

Foelu

SubObi Week Day Five

SubObi Week Day One

SubObi Week Day Four

SubObi Week Day Six

(Foelu is leading by A Margin in basically everything but hits now, it's insane)

5.) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! And I'm usually pretty good at it. Sometimes I'm really not sure what to say and sometimes I get kind of overwhelmed so not always, but I do try. I'm super behind on Foelu atm bc you all continue to just blow me away with the support on that one, but I promise I'm planning to sit down and try to get caught up soon.

6.) What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Angsty endings aren't super my thing, to be honest. Most of the things I've actually finished have happy endings, just because that's my personal preference. Most of my angst is in the middle, and I'd say probably the angstiest fic I have (at least right now) is Traveling Song. Ari has...been through it. It used to be a whole lot worse before the first rewrite happened though.

7.) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Idk, maybe the Obi-Wan Omegaverse series I did for SubObi Week?

8.) Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet, here's to hoping that doesn't change anytime soon.

9.) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Oh, yes. All sorts of it 😈😈

10.) Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Crossovers have never super been my thing, so no, not really.

11.) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that know of, again, hoping it stays that way.

12.) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not yet, I think, but I have had one or two podfic'ed!

13.) Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I'm listed as a co-author on @pyromanicdaydreamer 's The Moments In Between since I helped with so much of the development for it (what can I say, I'm an ideas guy if I'm anything), but I've never really co-written anything, as far as the actual words and stuff.

14.) What's your all time favorite ship?

I'm mentally ill about Codywan in a way I've never really been before or since, to be honest. They're my special little guys. Also, though, Octavious and Jedidiah from Night At The Museum, Obviously.

15.) What's a WIP you'd like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Oh, so many.

16.) What are your writing strengths?

I think the most consistent feedback I've gotten is that my character work and humor are good, which does just make me feel real nice because characterization is something I worry about.

17.) What are your writing weaknesses?

I am a total slave to the muse, my WIP graveyard is sprawling. I do think I could stand to be a little more descriptive at times, and I'm never going to claim that an English teacher wouldn't cry at some of my grammar. I'm a lot more concerned with how things sound than if they're technically correct.

18.) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

It's one of those things that's dependent on the characters, but when appropriate I do think it can add more depth. It also just makes sense for some characters--for example, you can be on either side of the clones-being-Mandalorian debate, but picking up another language from the trainers that the Kaminoans and likely their future generals don't know could only be in their best interest strategically.

19.) First fandom you wrote for?

Marvel I think. Pyro and I wrote a bunch of OC stuff in the 2012 era, and I think one of my very first ones was a Thor x OC that might even still be on ff.net.

20.) Favorite fic you've ever written?

Oh fuck. Uh. C'mon, man, this is like asking me to choose a favorite child. Shit. Um. I don't know if it's my favorite, but They Told Me I Couldn't Bag A Jedi was a lot of fucking fun to work on.

I think I'm gonna tag @ferretrade @goddammitjim @shootingstarpilot @bluemaskedkarma @brigittttoo

[satoshi-mochida]

House Flipper 2 ‘Sandbox Mode’ trailer, screenshots

Gematsu Source

Frozen District has released a new trailer and screenshots for House Flipper 2 introducing the new “Sandbox” mode experience.

Here is an overview of the mode, via Frozen District:

About Sandbox Mode

This all-new sandbox experience elevates the home renovation gaming experience to new heights. Players are no longer limited to merely flipping existing homes; the Sandbox mode empowers them to craft houses from the ground up, answering years of dedicated fan feedback from forums and beyond. Prepare to swap your mop for a brick hammer. While Story Mode remains a beloved feature from House Flipper 1, now Sandbox mode promises to give fans what they were missing—and more. Such is the vastness of this sandbox—or perhaps “arena box” would be more apt—that Frozen District’s level designers constructed every house in House Flipper 2‘s Story Mode using the Sandbox Mode. This grants players access to the same sophisticated tools wielded by the game developers, essentially transforming this mode into an advanced level editor.

Key Features of Sandbox Mode

New Sandbox Mode – Build from scratch with unparalleled creative freedom. From a Minecraft-inspired house to a chic urban residence, the sky’s the limit.

Advanced Building Tools – Use grid snapping or free placement for meticulous design control.

Customization and Flexibility – Clone styles, alter wall heights, or even relocate entire houses.

Landscaping Features – Shape and mold the environment, from rolling hills to deep basements.

Material Customization – Dynamic options to change wall patterns, colors, and more.

Floor Plan View – Top-down planning mode for detailed design and layout.

Expanding Furniture Library – Over 1,500 items, and growing, for detailed interior designs.

Undo and Redo at Will – A misstep? Simply undo or redo, offering players unmatched flexibility.

Endless Customization – With adjustable walls and a vast color spectrum for painting, endless design possibilities await.

House Creations and Community Sharing – players will be able to share their custom house creations with the broader community.

Interactive and Immersive – Insert windows without prior cut-outs, construct basements, and dynamically alter landscapes in real time.

House Flipper 2 is due out for PC via Steam on December 14, followed by PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series at a later date.

Watch the trailer below. View the screenshots at the gallery.

Sandbox Mode Trailer

[trendagon]

Starfield Alternatives for PlayStation Plus Subscribers

The long-awaited game, Starfield, has finally arrived for some lucky players. However, it's worth noting that this epic space adventure is exclusively available on Xbox Series X/S consoles, leaving console-only players without one of Microsoft's latest systems in search of alternatives. Fortunately, Sony's PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium subscription service offers some compelling gaming options.

1. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

For those craving a choice-driven RPG experience, revisiting Bethesda Game Studios' classic, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, is a timeless choice. With its expansive open world, numerous character classes, rich lore, and captivating stories, Skyrim has cemented its status as one of the finest fantasy RPGs. While many have likely ventured into Skyrim's landscapes already, it remains a go-to game for scratching that Western RPG itch.

2. Prey

Prey, developed by Arkane Studios (also owned by ZeniMax Media, like Bethesda), offers a different yet immersive experience. As a sci-fi horror game and immersive sim, Prey combines chills with versatile gameplay mechanics. Players must navigate a space-bound horror adventure armed with various tools to overcome challenges, including a roguelike mode for added replayability. If Starfield's sandbox potential appeals to you, Prey's space horror playground might be the perfect fit.

3. Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Starlink: Battle for Atlas offers an intriguing alternative for those fascinated by space exploration. This game features galaxy-exploring gameplay, allowing players to traverse space and planetary surfaces in customizable spacecraft. Originally a toys-to-life game, it's now available to PlayStation Plus Extra subscribers without the need for physical toys. If you're craving space exploration and don't mind a game primarily set in a customizable spaceship, give Starlink: Battle for Atlas a shot.

4. Star Wars: Bounty Hunter

For gamers with a penchant for older titles, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter offers a space bounty hunter fantasy reminiscent of Starfield. This LucasArts game, originally released for PS2 and GameCube in 2002 (remastered for PS4 in 2016), stars Jango Fett and provides insight into the bounty hunter's activities before Attack of the Clones. While the game's camera

Read Here Another One

[an-aussie-button-masher]

True Trailblazers - Five Classic Games that Defined Their Genre

   Everything follows a blueprint of some kind, right? Pretty much any modern game you play is part of an existing genre - they might introduce some new unique elements or mechanics, but it’s always on top of a standard style that’s usually been around for a long time…but something must have been the first. Where did these blueprints come from? Which games really set the standard for their genre? They might not necessarily have been the very first of their kind, but some games get the rules so right that everything that comes out afterwards follows their lead in some fashion. I’ve taken a look at some of the most popular and unique gaming genres of today and dug back into their past (some much further than others) to find out just which games truly stand out as the definitive trend-setters of video game history. Enjoy!

The Legend of Zelda    It’s dangerous to go alone on adventures, but fortunately Nintendo showed us how it’s done back in 1986 with The Legend of Zelda, one of the earliest action-adventure RPGs. It wasn’t technically the very first - that was Adventure (1979) - but Zelda streamlined the idea into what would become the modern RPG. It introduced staple mechanics like more open-ended non-linear gameplay, while getting rid of less relevant features like scoring points. Zelda gave us the genre’s major features by combining the item and upgrade collection and puzzle solving of adventure games with the reflex-based combat of action games - thus, the action-adventure genre. The original game may be simple and archaic by today’s standards, but the mechanics and ideas it introduced have become a mainstay of the entire genre, especially in future Zelda games.

DOOM    Modern first-person-shooters like Halo or Call of Duty have come a long way as they’ve become the genre’s current leaders, but no matter how far they go, it’s all thanks to good ol’ Doomguy. Back in 1993, id Software took the basic mechanics of their Wolfenstein series (e.g. the “camera” being the POV of the player character with just a gun barrel poking out in front) and added more varied environments, complex weapons, and brought us gaming’s most unstoppable demon-killing machine in DOOM. The game was such a genre-defining hit that for most of the 90’s, until the term “first-person shooter” was invented, similar games were simply called “DOOM Clones!” Even in modern shooters, you’ll find that the usual selection of guns are based on the arsenal used in DOOM - the basic pistol, the close-range shotgun, the bullet-spewing chaingun, the devastating rocket launcher, and so on.

The Binding of Isaac    Even random generation follows some rules, and a lot of these rules came from one sad little child in a basement. The Binding of Isaac was far from the first roguelite (a modern subgenre of roguelike games, which feature random procedural generation of runs with permadeath mechanics), but in 2011, the developers Edmund McMillen & Florian Himsl brought new twists to the roguelite formula that has stuck around ever since, on top of streamlining the usual mechanics to be more in line with modern RPGs. Isaac introduced a heavier emphasis on “macrogame” progression - certain aspects of a run, such as special currency or newly-unlocked upgrades, will carry over into future runs even if the player lost the initial run. Additionally, the massive collection of varied items and upgrades found in Isaac is now a staple feature of all roguelites. New roguelites like Risk of Rain or Cult of the Lamb may have introduced their own gimmicks, but they were added on top of the overall style of roguelite that Isaac set in stone.

Grand Theft Auto 3    What happens when you build a huge, open city, and put a hundred different things to steal and shoot at in it? You get Grand Theft Auto 3, the first true open-world sandbox. In 2011, DMA and Rockstar Studios took their old-school top-down GTA games and restructured them with the power of the state-of-the-art hardware of their time, creating the first fully 3-D GTA game and setting it within a huge, densely-packed world the player could explore at their leisure. They massively increased the scale and depth of the series, moving away from the mission-by-mission level selection in favour of the free-roaming map GTA is known for today. With greater player freedom and less restricted gameplay, players were free to go wherever and do whatever in whichever order they felt with no time limit; the plot was there to progress if desired, but there was also plenty of random other activities and collectables to gather in and out of your way if you chose to.

Resident Evil    You’re hiding from a monster with only one bullet left in your gun. The monster’s getting closer. How will you survive this horror? Look no further than Capcom’s 1996 Resident Evil, the best and original guide to the survival horror genre - it even came up with the genre’s name! You’re welcome to try and fight whatever monster or zombie horde is lurking around, but with the harshly limited resources at your disposal, it’s generally wiser to run and/or hide. Later RE entries introduced more action elements to the series, but the first game is the true survival horror experience with the bleak, oppressive atmosphere and the protagonists being easily overwhelmed instead of just being able to blast their way through anything. For an even spookier vibe, Silent Hill is one of the other best early examples of survival horror, adding elements of psychological horror to RE’s style.

   I hope you enjoyed this look at where a few favourite gaming genres all came from! Of course, there are dozens of other genres with their own classic roots - if you know of any other genre-setting games, let me know!   Reblogs and likes are much appreciated, and thank you for reading!

[this-week-in-rust]

This Week in Rust 509

Hello and welcome to another issue of This Week in Rust! Rust is a programming language empowering everyone to build reliable and efficient software. This is a weekly summary of its progress and community. Want something mentioned? Tag us at @ThisWeekInRust on Twitter or @ThisWeekinRust on mastodon.social, or send us a pull request. Want to get involved? We love contributions.

This Week in Rust is openly developed on GitHub and archives can be viewed at this-week-in-rust.org. If you find any errors in this week's issue, please submit a PR.

Updates from Rust Community

Newsletters

This Week in Ars Militaris VII

Project/Tooling Updates

actix-contrib-logger v0.1.0: drop-in replacement for the Actix Web HTTP Logger middleware

Observations/Thoughts

Rust 1.71.1

Exploring the Rust compiler benchmark suite

Pre-RFC: Sandboxed, deterministic, reproducible, efficient Wasm compilation of proc macros

RustShip: a new Rust podcast

Rust Walkthroughs

Delightful command-line utilities with Rust

ESP32 Standard Library Embedded Rust: Analog Temperature Sensing using the ADC

Bare Metal Space Invaders

[series] Distributed Tracing in Rust, Episode 2: tracing basics

Secure database access using Ockam

Research

Fixing Rust Compilation Errors using LLMs

Miscellaneous

Shuttle Launchpad #6: A little CRUD

[video]I failed to build multiplayer pong in Rust

Crate of the Week

This week's crate is document-features, a crate to extract documentation for the feature flags from comments in Cargo.toml.

Thanks to Zicklag for the suggestion!

Please submit your suggestions and votes for next week!

Call for Participation

Always wanted to contribute to open-source projects but did not know where to start? Every week we highlight some tasks from the Rust community for you to pick and get started!

Some of these tasks may also have mentors available, visit the task page for more information.

ZeroCopy - CI step "Set toolchain version" can fail without stopping CI job 1

ZeroCopy - Prevent panics statically 1

RON - Rusty byte strings in RON, deprecate base64 (byte) strings

heed - create guides on ways to use heed

Ockam - Use a user-friendly name for the shared services to show it in the tray menu

Ockam - In the Share a service window, the Port should be renamed to Address and support such format

Ockam - In the Share a service window, the Name attribute should not have the /service/ prefix

Hyperswitch - remove unused function for merchant connector account

If you are a Rust project owner and are looking for contributors, please submit tasks here.

Updates from the Rust Project

342 pull requests were merged in the last week

Restrict the parsing of count (RFC #3086)

custom_mir: change Call() terminator syntax to something more readable

add MIR validation for unwind out from nounwind functions + fixes to make validation pass

add missing Clone/Debug impls to SMIR Trait related tys

add projection obligations when comparing impl too

add the relocation_model to the cfg

avoid side-effects from try_coerce when suggesting borrowing LHS of cast

check projection args before substitution in new solver

const-eval: ensure we never const-execute a function marked rustc_do_not_const_check

couple of global state and driver refactors

deny FnDef in patterns

do not mark shallow_lint_levels_on as eval_always

fix a stack overflow with long else if chains

fix argument removal suggestion around macros

fix bad suggestion when wrong parentheses around a dyn trait

fix suggestion for attempting to define a string with single quotes

improve invalid_reference_casting lint

instantiate response: no unnecessary new universe

interpret/miri: call the panic_nounwind machinery the same way codegen does

match scrutinee need necessary parentheses for structs

normalize before checking if local is freeze in deduced_param_attrs

normalize return type of deduce_future_output_from_obligations

only consider object candidates for object-safe dyn types in new solver

point at return type when it influences non-first match arm

point out expectation even if we have TypeError::RegionsInsufficientlyPolymorphic

probe when assembling upcast candidates so they don't step on eachother's toes in new solver

separate consider_unsize_to_dyn_candidate from other unsize candidates

speed up compilation of type-system-chess

stabilize thread local cell methods

synchronize with all calls to unpark in id-based thread parker

upgrade std to gimli 0.28.0

usage zero as language id for FormatMessageW()

use unstable_target_features when checking inline assembly

warn on inductive cycle in coherence leading to impls being considered not overlapping

we are migrating to askama

miri: C mem function shims: consistently treat "invalid" pointers as UB

miri: avoid unnecessary Vec resize

miri: on out-of-bounds error, show where the allocation was created

miri: pin a version of serde without intransparent unreproducible binary blobs

miri: replace hand-written binary search with Vec::binary_search_by

miri: tree borrows: more comments in foreign_read transition

miri: when reporting a heap use-after-free, say where the allocation was allocated and deallocated

only run MaybeInitializedPlaces dataflow once to elaborate drops

optimize DroplessArena arena allocation

optimizing the rest of bool's Ord implementation

don't panic in ceil_char_boundary

expose core::error::request_value in std

fix UB in std::sys::os::getenv()

cleaner assert_eq! & assert_ne! panic messages

inline strlen_rt in CStr::from_ptr

cargo-credential-gnome-secret: dynamically load libsecret

cargo: crate checksum lookup query should match on semver build metadata

cargo: credential-providers: make 1password no longer built-in

cargo: credential: rename cargo:basic to cargo:token-from-stdout

cargo: fix: change the defaults to always check-in Cargo.lock

cargo: improve error message for when no credential providers are available

cargo: login: allow passing additional args to provider

cargo: make cargo-credential-gnome-secret built-in as cargo:libsecret

cargo: print environment variables for cargo run in extra verbose mode

rustdoc: udd warning block support in rustdoc

rustdoc: add lint redundant_explicit_links

rustdoc: fixes with --test-run-directory and relative paths

rustfmt: prevent ICE when formatting item-only vec!{}

rustfmt: remove newlines in where clauses for v2

rustfmt: use OR operator in Cargo.toml license field

clippy: iter_overeager_cloned: detect .cloned().map() and .cloned().for_each()

clippy: new_without_default: include where clause in suggestions, make applicable

clippy: useless_conversion: only lint on paths to fn items and fix FP in macro

clippy: allow calling to_owned on borrowed value for implicit_clone

clippy: check that the suggested method exists in unwrap_or_default

clippy: correctly handle async blocks for NEEDLESS_PASS_BY_REF_MUT

clippy: new lint: should_panic_without_expect

rust-analyzer: add status bar button to toggle check on save state

rust-analyzer: implement extern crate completion

rust-analyzer: record import aliases in symbol index

rust-analyzer: fix help text for rust-analyzer.check.invocation{Strategy,Location}

rust-analyzer: fix signature help of methods from macros

rust-analyzer: fix auto-import (and completions) importing #[doc(hidden)] items

rust-analyzer: rewrite DeMorgan assist

rust-analyzer: start hovering default values of generic constants

rust-analyzer: increase the buffer size for discover project command

rust-analyzer: suggest type completions for type arguments and constant completions for constant arguments

rust-analyzer: the "add missing members" assists: implemented substitution of default values of const params

rust-analyzer: upgrade lsp server

Rust Compiler Performance Triage

A week with very few real regressions and some good improvements through work done by @cjgillot who found a few spots where the compiler was doing unnecessary work.

Triage done by @rylev. Revision range: e845910..d4a881

Summary:

(instructions:u) mean range count Regressions ❌ (primary) 1.4% [0.5%, 2.6%] 13 Regressions ❌ (secondary) 0.6% [0.3%, 0.8%] 8 Improvements ✅ (primary) -0.7% [-1.4%, -0.3%] 59 Improvements ✅ (secondary) -0.8% [-1.3%, -0.3%] 38 All ❌✅ (primary) -0.3% [-1.4%, 2.6%] 72

3 Regressions, 2 Improvements, 2 Mixed; 2 of them in rollups 28 artifact comparisons made in total

Full report here

Approved RFCs

Changes to Rust follow the Rust RFC (request for comments) process. These are the RFCs that were approved for implementation this week:

No RFCs were approved this week.

Final Comment Period

Every week, the team announces the 'final comment period' for RFCs and key PRs which are reaching a decision. Express your opinions now.

RFCs

No RFCs entered Final Comment Period this week.

Tracking Issues & PRs

[disposition: merge] Tracking Issue for const [u8]::is_ascii (const_slice_is_ascii)

[disposition: merge] Implement From<[T; N]> for Rc<[T]> and Arc<[T]>

[disposition: merge] Tracking Issue for Saturating type

[disposition: merge] Implement From<{&,&mut} [T; N]> for Vec<T> where T: Clone

[disposition: merge] Tracking Issue for os_str_bytes

[disposition: merge] Tracking Issue for io::Error::other

[disposition: merge] impl TryFrom<char> for u16

[disposition: merge] rustdoc: show inner enum and struct in type definition for concrete type

[disposition: merge] Replace old private-in-public diagnostic with type privacy lints

[disposition: merge] Implement PartialOrd and Ord for Discriminant

[disposition: merge] stop adding dropck outlives requirements for [T; 0]

[disposition: merge] make Cell::swap panic if the Cells partially overlap

[disposition: merge] Add note that Vec::as_mut_ptr() does not materialize a reference to the internal buffer

[disposition: merge] Document lack of panic safety guarantees of Clone::clone_from

[disposition: merge] Command: also print removed env vars

[disposition: merge] impl Step for IP addresses

New and Updated RFCs

[new] RFC: expose-fn-type

Call for Testing

An important step for RFC implementation is for people to experiment with the implementation and give feedback, especially before stabilization. The following RFCs would benefit from user testing before moving forward:

No RFCs issued a call for testing this week.

If you are a feature implementer and would like your RFC to appear on the above list, add the new call-for-testing label to your RFC along with a comment providing testing instructions and/or guidance on which aspect(s) of the feature need testing.

Upcoming Events

Rusty Events between 2023-08-23 - 2023-09-20 🦀

Virtual

2023-08-23 | Virtual (Linz, AT) | Rust Linz

Rust Meetup Linz - 32nd Edition

2023-08-24 | Virtual (Charlottesville, NC, US) | Charlottesville Rust Meetup

Crafting Interpreters in Rust Collaboratively

2023-08-24 | Virtual (Ciudad de México, MX) | Rust MX

Macros Procedurales y Metalenguajes en Rust

2023-09-05 | Virtual (Buffalo, NY, US) | Buffalo Rust Meetup

Buffalo Rust User Group, First Tuesdays

2023-09-05 | Virtual (Munich, DE) | Rust Munich

Rust Munich 2023 / 4 - hybrid

2023-09-06 | Virtual (Indianapolis, IN, US) | Indy Rust

Indy.rs - with Social Distancing

2023-09-07 | Virtual (Charlottesville, NC, US) | Charlottesville Rust Meetup

Crafting Interpreters in Rust Collaboratively

2023-09-12 - 2023-09-15 | Virtual (Albuquerque, NM, US) | RustConf

RustConf 2023

2023-09-12 | Virtual (Dallas, TX, US) | Dallas Rust

Second Tuesday

2023-09-13 | Virtual (Boulder, CO, US) | Boulder Elixir and Rust

Monthly Meetup

2023-09-13 | Virtual (Cardiff, UK)| Rust and C++ Cardiff

The unreasonable power of combinator APIs

2023-09-14 | Virtual (Nuremberg, DE) | Rust Nuremberg

Rust Nürnberg online

Asia

2023-09-06 | Tel Aviv, IL | Rust TLV

RustTLV @ Final - September Edition

Europe

2023-08-23 | London, UK | Rust London User Group

LDN Talks Aug 2023: Rust London x RNL (The next Frontier in App Development)

2023-08-24 | Aarhus, DK | Rust Aarhus

Rust Aarhus Hack and Learn at Trifork

2023-08-31 | Augsburg, DE | Rust Meetup Augsburg

Augsburg Rust Meetup #2

2023-09-05 | Munich, DE + Virtual | Rust Munich

Rust Munich 2023 / 4 - hybrid

2023-09-21 | Bern, CH | Rust Bern

Third Rust Bern Meetup

North America

2023-08-23 | Austin, TX, US | Rust ATX

Rust Lunch - Fareground

2023-08-24 | Mountain View, CA, US | Mountain View Rust Meetup

Rust Meetup at Hacker Dojo

2023-08-30 | Copenhagen, DK | Copenhagen Rust Community

Rust metup #39 sponsored by Fermyon

2023-09-06 | Bellevue, WA, US | The Linux Foundation

Rust Global

2023-09-12 - 2023-09-15 | Albuquerque, NM, US + Virtual | RustConf

RustConf 2023

2023-09-19 | San Francisco, CA, US | San Francisco Rust Study Group

Rust Hacking in Person

Oceania

2023-08-24 | Brisbane, QLD, AU | Rust Brisbane

August Meetup

2023-09-13 | Perth, WA, AU | Rust Perth

Rust Meetup 2: Lunch & Learn

If you are running a Rust event please add it to the calendar to get it mentioned here. Please remember to add a link to the event too. Email the Rust Community Team for access.

Jobs

Please see the latest Who's Hiring thread on r/rust

Quote of the Week

[...] there's no benefit to haranguing people.

Unless they use three spaces for indentation. Those people need to be relentlessly mocked and publicly harassed until they see sense and use five spaces like all proper, civilised people do. Damn barbarians...

– Daniel Keep on rust-users

Thanks to Jonas Fassbender for the suggestion!

Please submit quotes and vote for next week!

This Week in Rust is edited by: nellshamrell, llogiq, cdmistman, ericseppanen, extrawurst, andrewpollack, U007D, kolharsam, joelmarcey, mariannegoldin, bennyvasquez.

Email list hosting is sponsored by The Rust Foundation

Discuss on r/rust

[govindhtech]

Understanding What Is QVM Quantum Virtual Machine?

Explain QVM

Many computing domains, from server performance to quantum hardware simulation, require a "Quantum Virtual Machine" (QVM). Quantum bits may come to mind, but its applications in modern technology go beyond that.

Google's Quantum Virtual Machine: Developer Sandbox

Quantum computing pioneer Google's Quantum Virtual Machine is a key simulator that accurately simulates their real-world quantum hardware processors. Engineers can simulate quantum circuit operation on quantum computers using the QVM. Google's QVM simulations' sophisticated noise data integration is a key component. This ensures that the simulated environment accurately replicates Google quantum processor defects and constraints. Internal tests have confirmed the QVM's amazing accuracy with outputs that match genuine hardware and fall within experimental error margins. The QVM smoothly integrates qsim, a high-performance simulator, to manage larger and more complex quantum circuits. The QVM is a must-start for many developers. It lets Google test and develop quantum circuits before implementing them on quantum hardware. In addition, the QVM can be used when actual quantum hardware is unavailable or limited. It is a key component of Google Quantum AI's Cirq software ecosystem for designing, building, and changing quantum circuits. Google QVMs require virtualizing a processor like Weber or Rainbow with public noise data. This process involves creating a noise model, loading median device noise data, translating it into a Cirq noise characteristics object, and configuring a qsim sampler to execute noisy simulations. The virtual engine packages this simulator and device to simulate a quantum processor's workflow. Circuits must be “device ready” for QVM to work. They must function on available qubits, have gates suitable for the virtual device, and have a topology that compliments its connection. Choosing the suitable qubits, reconfiguring the circuit to meet the gate set, and mapping the circuit are often required. Circuit simulation accuracy depends on iterations; research simulations should have 10,000 or more repeats and learning simulations 3,000. Different Quantum Virtual Machine Interpretations

Besides Google, other organisations with distinct aims are investigating a “Quantum Virtual Machine”: Rigetti Computing's QVM: Rigetti declares its Quantum Virtual Machine a powerful simulator for Quil, their quantum assembly language. Quantum Taiwan's Integrated Project: “Quantum Taiwan” proposes a QVM approach to study quantum advantage in and beyond the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) phase. Their QVM conceptualisation has three layers: quantum application, architecture, and middleware. This middleware layer mixes quantum and classical computer architectures to provide an intelligent interface between users and quantum devices using cutting-edge nature imitation techniques. Traditional Computing Applications: “Quantum Virtual Machine” is also utilised in traditional computing, especially for power and performance control in clusters of virtualised web servers. The March 2019 Cluster Computing model defines a QVM as a virtual web server that handles data by default. A logical web server with QVMs dynamically adjusts power consumption and performance to workload. This model saved 51.8% energy without affecting application performance using dynamic voltage and frequency scaling and agile virtual machine cloning. An IEEE paper proposes a scalable “Quantum Virtual Machine” to optimise resource management and energy savings. Formal Definition: (I, N, T)

Theory defines a quantum virtual machine as a triplet (I, N, and T). The QVM's supported instructions are called the instruction set (‘I’). Noise model, designated by “N,” is a random variable that generates noise instructions based on probability distributions. ‘T’ denotes the topology, a graph showing qubit connectivity. This formalisation emphasises QVMs' theoretical complexity computation advantages and provides accurate quantum compiler specifications. It simplifies fault-tolerant quantum systems and software emulators. Although quantum computers exist, their connection, noise, and instruction sets differ substantially. The Quantum Virtual Machine is revolutionary in every way. QVMs provide versatile, accurate, and efficient virtual environments for development, testing, and resource management, improving quantum and classical computing. This applies whether they copy Google's quantum processors, explain quantum advantage, or optimise energy in traditional data centres.

[develthe]

Future-Ready HR: How Zero-Downtime SAP S/4HANA Upgrades Slash Admin Effort and Boost Employee Experience

Reading time: ~9 minutes • Author: SAPSOL Technologies Inc. 

Executive Summary (Why stay for the next nine minutes?)

HR has become the cockpit for culture, compliance, and analytics-driven talent decisions. Yet most teams still run the digital equivalent of a flip phone: ECC 6.0 or an early S/4 release installed when TikTok didn’t exist. Staying on “version lock” quietly drains budgets—payroll defects, clunky self-service, manual audits—until a single statutory patch or ransomware scare forces a panic upgrade.

It doesn’t have to be that way. A zero-downtime SAP S/4HANA migration, delivered with modern DevOps, automated regression testing, and business-led governance, lets you transform the HR core without stopping payroll or blowing up IT change windows. In this deep dive you’ll learn:

The five hidden HR costs of running yesterday’s ERP

A phase-by-phase playbook for near-invisible cutover—validated at mid-market firms across North America

Real KPIs in 60 days: fewer payroll recalculations, faster onboarding, and a 31 % jump in self-service adoption

Action kit: register for our 26 June micro-webinar (1 CE credit) and grab the 15-point checklist to start tomorrow

1. The Hidden Tax of Running on Yesterday’s ERP

Every HR pro has lived at least one of these nightmares—often shrugging them off as “just how the system works.” Multiply them across years and thousands of employees, and the cost rivals an enterprise-wide wage hike.

Patch ParalysisScenario: Ottawa releases a mid-year CPP rate change. Payroll must implement it in two weeks, but finance is in year-end freeze. Manual notes, off-cycle transports, weekend overtime—then a retro run reveals under-withholding on 800 staff.Tax in hours: 120 developer + analyst hours per patch.Tax in trust: Employee confidence tanks when paycheques bounce.

Security DebtRole concepts written for 2008 processes force endless SoD spreadsheets. Auditors demand screenshots for every change. Each year the HRIS lead burns a full month compiling user-access evidence.

UX FatigueESS/MSS screens render like Windows XP. Employees open tickets rather than self-serve address changes, spiking help-desk volume by 15–20 %. New grads—used to consumer-grade apps—question your brand.

Analytics BlackoutsReal-time dashboards stall because legacy cluster tables can’t feed BW/4HANA live connections. HR must export CSVs, re-import to Power BI, reconcile totals, and hope no one notices daily-refresh gaps.

Cloud-Talent SprawlRecruiting, learning, and well-being live in separate SaaS tools. Nightly interfaces fail, HRIS babysits IDocs at midnight, and CFO wonders why subscription spend keeps climbing.

Bottom line: Those “little pains” cost six or seven figures annually. Modernizing the digital core erases the tax—but only if you keep payroll humming, time clocks online, and compliance filings on schedule. Welcome to zero-downtime migration.

2. Anatomy of a Zero-Downtime SAP S/4HANA Upgrade

Phase 1 – Dual-Track Sandboxing (Days 0–10)

Objective: Give HR super-users a playground that mirrors live payroll while production stays untouched.

How: SAPSOL deploys automated clone scripts—powered by SAP Landscape Transformation (SLT) and Infrastructure-as-Code templates (Terraform, Ansible). Within 48 hours a greenfield S/4HANA sandbox holds PA/OM/PT/PY data scrubbed of PII.

Why it matters: Business owners prove statutory, union, and time rules in isolation. The tech team tweaks roles, Fiori catalogs, and CDS views without delaying month-end.

Pro tip: Schedule “sandbox showcase” lunches—15-minute demos that excite HR stakeholders and surface nuance early (“Our northern sites calculate dual overtime thresholds!”).

Phase 2 – Data Minimization & Clone Masking (Days 11–25)

Data hoarding dooms many upgrades. Terabytes of inactive personnel files balloon copy cycles and expose PII.

Rule-based archiving: Retain only active employees + two full fiscal years.

GDPR masking: Hash SIN/SSN, bank data, and health codes for non-production copies.

Result: 47 % smaller footprint → copy/refresh windows collapse from 20 hours to 8.

Phase 3 – Sprint-Style Regression Harness (Days 26–60)

Introduce HR-Bot, SAPSOL’s regression engine:

600+ automated scripts cover payroll clusters, Time Evaluation, Benefits, and Global Employment.

Execution pace: Two hours for end-to-end vs. 10 days of manual step-lists.

Tolerance: Variance > 0.03 % triggers red flag. Human testers focus on exceptions, not keystrokes.

Regression becomes a nightly safety net, freeing analysts for business process innovation.

Phase 4 – Shadow Cutover (Weekend T-0)

Friday 18:00 – ECC payroll finishes week. SLT delta replication streams last-minute master-data edits to S/4.

Friday 21:00 – Finance, HR, and IT sign off on penny-perfect rehearsal payroll inside S/4.

Friday 22:00 – DNS switch: ESS/MSS URLs now point to the S/4 tenant; API integrations flip automatically via SAP API Management.

Monday 07:00 – Employees log in, see Fiori launchpad mobile tiles. No tickets, no confetti cannons—just business as usual.

Phase 5 – Continuous Innovation Loop (Post Go-Live)

Traditional upgrades dump you at go-live then vanish for 18 months. Zero-downtime culture embeds DevOps:

Feature Pack Stack drip-feeding—small transports weekly, not mega-projects yearly.

Blue-green pipelines—automated unit + regression tests gate every transport.

Feedback loops—daily stand-up with HR ops, weekly KPI review. Change windows are now measured in coffee breaks.

3. Change Management: Winning Hearts Before You Move Code

A seamless cutover still fails if the workforce rejects new workflows. SAPSOL’s “People, Process, Platform” model runs parallel to tech tracks:

Personas & journeys – Map recruiter, manager, hourly associate pain points.

Hyper-care squads – Power users sit with help-desk during first two payroll cycles.

Micro-learning bursts – 3-minute “how-to” videos embedded in Fiori. Uptake beats hour-long webinars.

Result? User adoption spikes quickly often visible in ESS log-ins by week 2.

4. Compliance & Audit Readiness Baked In

Zero-downtime doesn’t just protect operations; it boosts compliance posture:

SoD automation – SAP Cloud Identity Access Governance compares old vs. new roles nightly.

e-Document Framework – Tax-authority e-filings (Canada, US, EU) validated pre-cutover.

Lineage reporting – Every payroll cluster mutation logged in HANA native storage, simplifying CRA or IRS queries.

Auditors now receive screenshots and drill-downs at click speed, not quarter-end heroics.

5. Performance Gains You Can Take to the Bank

Within the first two payroll cycles post-go-live, SAPSOL clients typically see:

60 DAY RESULT

Payroll recalculations   92/year   –38 %

Onboarding cycle (offer → badge)   11 days  –22 %

ESS/MSS log-ins   5 500/month   +31 %

Unplanned downtime  2.5 hrs/yr   0 hrs

One $750 M discrete-manufacturer counts 3 498 staff hours returned annually—funding three new talent-analytics analysts without head-count increase.

6. Case Study

Profile – 1 900 employees, unionized production, dual-country payroll (CA/US), ECC 6 for 14 years.

Challenge – Legacy payroll schema required 43 custom Operation Rules; security roles triggered 600+ SoD conflicts each audit.

SAPSOL Solution

Dual-track sandbox; 37 payroll variants tested in 10 days

GDPR masking reduced non-prod clone from 3.2 TB → 1.4 TB

Near-Zero-Downtime (NZDT) services + blue/green pipeline executed cutover in 49 minutes

Hyper-care “Ask Me Anything” Teams channel moderated by HR-Bot

Outcome – Zero payroll disruption, –41 % payroll support tickets, +3 % Glassdoor rating in six months.

Read our case study on Assessment of Complete Upgrade and Integration Functionality of ERP (COTS) with BIBO/COGNOS and External Systems

7. Top Questions from HR Leaders—Answered in Plain Speak

Q1. Will moving to S/4 break our union overtime rules?No. SAP Time Sheet (CATS/SuccessFactors Time Tracking) inherits your custom schemas. We import PCRs, run dual-payroll reconciliation, and give union reps a sandbox login to verify every scenario before go-live.

Q2. Our headquarters is in Canada, but 40 % of the workforce is in the US. Can we run parallel payroll?Absolutely. SAPSOL’s harness executes CA and US payroll in a single simulation batch. Variance reports highlight penny differences line-by-line so Finance signs off with confidence.

Q3. How do we show ROI to the CFO beyond “it’s newer”?We deliver a quantified value storyboard: reduced ticket labour, compliance fines avoided, attrition savings from better UX, and working-capital release from faster hiring time. Most clients see payback in 12–16 months.

Q4. Our IT team fears “another massive SAP project.” What’s different?Zero-downtime scope fits in 14-week sprints, not two-year marathons. Automated regression and blue-green transport pipelines mean fewer late nights and predictable release cadence.

Q5. Do we need to rip-and-replace HR add-ons (payroll tax engines, time clocks)?No. Certified interfaces (HR FIORI OData, CPI iFlows) keep existing peripherals alive. In pilots we reused 92 % of third-party integrations unchanged.

8. Technical Underpinnings (Geek Corner)

Downtime-Optimized DMO – Combines SUM + NZDT add-on so business operations continue while database tables convert in shadow schema.

HANA native storage extension – Offloads cold personnel data to cheaper disk tiers but keeps hot clusters in-memory, balancing cost and speed.

CDS-based HR analytics – Replaces cluster decoding with virtual data model views, feeding SAP Analytics Cloud dashboards in real time.

CI/CD Toolchain – GitLab, abapGit, and gCTS orchestrate transports; Selenium/RPA automate UI smoke tests.

These pieces work behind the curtain so HR never sees a hiccup.

9. Next Steps—Your 3-Step Action Kit

Reserve your seat at our Zero-Downtime HR Upgrade micro-webinar on 26 June—capped at 200 live seats. Attendees earn 1 SHRM/HRCI credit and receive the complete 15-Point HR Upgrade Checklist.

Download the checklist and benchmark your current payroll and self-service pain points. It’s a one-page scorecard you can share with IT and Finance.

Book a free discovery call at https://www.sapsol.com/free-sap-poc/ to scope timelines, quick wins, and budget guardrails. (We’ll show you live KPI dashboards from real clients—no slideware.)

Upgrade your core. Elevate your people. SAPSOL has your back.

Final Thought

Zero-downtime migration isn’t a Silicon-Valley fantasy. It’s a proven, repeatable path to unlock modern HR capabilities—without risking the payroll run or employee trust. The sooner your digital core evolves, the faster HR can pivot from data janitor to strategic powerhouse.

See you on 26 June—let’s build an HR ecosystem ready for anything.Sam Mall — Founder, SAPSOL Technologies Inc.Website: https://www.sapsol.comCall us at: +1 3438000733

[bulk-object-field-creator]

Clone Salesforce Objects, Fields & Validation Rules in Bulk – The Easy Way with BOFC

Salesforce admins and developers know the pain of repetitive configuration tasks. Whether you're setting up a sandbox, migrating to a new org, or simply duplicating a structure for a new business unit — cloning objects, fields, and validation rules manually is a time-consuming process.

Enter BOFC (Bulk Object Field Creator) — a powerful productivity tool designed to eliminate the tediousness of bulk Salesforce configuration.

🔄 The Challenge: Manual Cloning in Salesforce

Out-of-the-box, Salesforce does not provide a native way to bulk clone metadata elements like:

Custom objects and their fields

Validation rules

Record types

Field-level security

Page layouts

This typically involves a mix of manual clicks, change sets, or complex metadata API scripts — not ideal when time is tight.

✅ The BOFC Solution: Clone Everything in Just a Few Clicks

BOFC simplifies the entire process by allowing users to clone multiple elements at once, right from within Salesforce. Here’s what you can do with BOFC:

🔹 Clone Custom & Standard Objects:

Duplicate object definitions along with fields, record types, and relationships — perfect for sandbox creation or org replication. Read More

🔹 Clone Fields in Bulk:

Select and copy fields from one object to another with full control over field types, help texts, picklist values, and more. Read More

🔹 Clone Validation Rules:

Copy complex business logic rules from one object to another — maintaining your governance without extra effort.

🔹 Field-Level Security & Profiles:

Ensure cloned components maintain appropriate access by replicating security settings across profiles.

🧠 Why Use BOFC?

Save hours of manual work

Avoid errors and inconsistencies

No coding or deployment tools required

Works within Salesforce using an intuitive interface

🔍 Real Use Case:

A Salesforce admin needs to set up a new custom object with 50+ fields, similar to an existing object. Normally, this would take hours. With BOFC, it’s done in under 5 minutes — including cloning of fields, validation rules, and picklist values.

🛠️ Getting Started with BOFC

Install the BOFC package from AppExchange

Navigate to the BOFC app within Salesforce

Choose what you want to clone (objects, fields, rules, etc.)

Select source and destination

Click Clone — and you're done!

📈 Boost Your Salesforce Productivity

Whether you're a Salesforce Admin, Architect, or Consultant, BOFC is the go-to tool for speeding up your org setup and maintenance tasks.

👉 Try BOFC Today and take control of your Salesforce configuration with confidence.

[conneqtion]

Common Challenges in Oracle Forms to APEX Migrations—and How to Solve Them

Migrating from Oracle Forms to Oracle APEX is not just a technology shift—it's a transformation of how your business applications work, look, and scale. While Oracle Forms has served enterprises reliably for decades, it's built on a client-server architecture that doesn't align with modern, web-first expectations.

Oracle APEX, on the other hand, offers a low-code, browser-based environment with rich UI capabilities, tight PL/SQL integration, and excellent support for modern development practices.

But let’s be honest—Forms to APEX migration isn't a plug-and-play process. It comes with real-world challenges that, if not addressed properly, can lead to delays, frustration, or missed opportunities.

In this post, we'll explore the most common challenges in migrating Oracle Forms to APEX—and, more importantly, how to solve them.

Challenge 1: Understanding the Legacy Code and Business Logic

📌 The Problem:

Many Forms applications have evolved over decades, often with minimal documentation. The logic is tightly bound to the UI, buried in triggers, program units, and PL/SQL blocks.

✅ The Solution:

Perform a full inventory of all Forms modules.

Use tools like Oracle Forms2XML or third-party scanners to extract and analyze code.

Identify reusable business logic and move it to database packages, separating logic from UI.

Document core workflows before rewriting in APEX.

Pro tip: Establish a “Forms-to-APEX Reference Map” to track where each legacy feature is being re-implemented or redesigned.

⚠️ Challenge 2: UI/UX Differences Between Forms and APEX

📌 The Problem:

Forms applications often use canvases, blocks, and modal windows—none of which translate 1:1 into APEX. Users familiar with old-school layouts may resist change.

✅ The Solution:

Focus on functionality parity, not screen-by-screen cloning.

Reimagine the UI with APEX Interactive Reports, Dialogs, and Faceted Search.

Use the Redwood Light theme in APEX to deliver a clean, modern experience.

Conduct end-user workshops to involve them early in the redesign process.

Remember: This is a chance to improve UX, not just replicate the past.

⚠️ Challenge 3: Handling Triggers and Built-in Events

📌 The Problem:

Forms relies heavily on triggers like WHEN-VALIDATE-ITEM, PRE-INSERT, or KEY-NEXT-ITEM. These don't exist in APEX in the same way.

✅ The Solution:

Move data validation logic into database triggers or packages.

Use Dynamic Actions, Process Handlers, and Validations in APEX to simulate similar behaviors.

Create custom JavaScript where necessary for field-level interactions.

Keep business logic in PL/SQL, and use APEX to handle client-side workflows.

⚠️ Challenge 4: List of Values (LOVs) and Pop-Ups

📌 The Problem:

Oracle Forms uses LOVs and pop-up windows extensively. These may not behave the same in APEX without thoughtful redesign.

✅ The Solution:

Replace Forms LOVs with APEX’s popup LOV or select list components.

Use shared LOVs to centralize list management.

For cascading LOVs, use Dynamic Actions to update values based on selections.

APEX provides more flexibility—but you may need to rethink the user flow.

⚠️ Challenge 5: State Management and Navigation

📌 The Problem:

Forms is stateful; APEX is stateless. In Forms, navigation and state retention happen automatically. In APEX, every action reloads a page or region.

✅ The Solution:

Use session state variables and hidden items to manage state across pages.

Apply branching logic and URL parameters for navigation control.

Embrace modal dialogs for maintaining context.

Design with the web in mind—shorter tasks, fewer clicks, intuitive flow.

⚠️ Challenge 6: Training & Developer Mindset Shift

📌 The Problem:

Developers accustomed to Forms development need to shift from procedural to declarative, low-code development in APEX.

✅ The Solution:

Provide hands-on training and access to APEX learning resources.

Create internal sandboxes for experimenting with APEX features.

Promote code reusability, templates, and UI best practices.

APEX is powerful—but it takes time to shift the mindset from "Form triggers" to "Dynamic Actions and page processes."

✅ Conclusion

Oracle Forms to APEX migration is a rewarding journey—but like any transformation, it comes with technical and cultural challenges. The key is to approach it methodically:

Analyze and document before you migrate.

Modernize, don’t just replicate.

Train your team, and embrace the new development model.

Done right, the migration leads to modern, maintainable, and scalable applications that align with today’s business and user expectations.

[govindhtech]

Google Jules Agent: Google’s Asynchronous Coding Agent

Search Jules coding assistance

Google developed asynchronous agentic coding help Jules. After debuting in Google Labs in December, it entered public beta on May 20, 2025, and anyone with the Gemini model can use it without waiting.

Google Jules Agent frees developers to write code and pursue other interests by handling tedious coding tasks. An autonomous agent reads code, understands purpose, and completes tasks—not as a co-pilot or code-completion sidekick.

Jules functions as follows:

Jules operates in the background, letting you focus on other work.

Integration with Repositories: It connects effortlessly to those you already have. Choose your GitHub branch and repository to write a detailed Google Jules Agent prompt. A future feature will allow GitHub task assignment using the “assign-to-jules” label in an issue.

Secure Cloud Environment: Jules clones your repository to a secure Google Cloud VM to fully understand your project. This cloud virtual machine handles several requests in simultaneously.

Creates task plans using Gemini 2.5 Pro: Google Jules Agent uses the latest Gemini 2.5 Pro model. This gives it significant code reasoning skills to swiftly and accurately manage complex, multi-file updates and concurrent activities.

Task execution: Jules performs tasks like: ◦

Bug fixes

Creating tests

Updating dependencies

Fixing code (potentially referencing “Jed’s Code” internally)

Creating new features

Converting Next.js projects to utilise the app directory.

Google Jules Agent process is obvious. A completed task shows its strategy, reasoning, and changes. These code improvements are simple to approve. Jules illustrates its plan before revisions. Workflow includes connecting to GitHub, making a branch, starting a task, accepting Jules' plan, offering input while it completes tasks, and monitoring activity from a panel.

Features of Google Jules Agent

It highlights these key features:

GitHub Integration: Jules works immediately with GitHub.

User Steerability: Change the plan before, during, and after execution to control your code.

Audio Summaries: Jules creates an audio changelog of recent contributions to make project history listenable.

Real codebases: Google Jules Agent uses your project's context without a sandbox.

Jules is private by default and doesn't train on your private code, so your data is separated in the execution environment. Google's privacy policies apply.

Limits and use

Google Jules Agent is free in public beta, but with limits. Pricing should be announced after beta. Start using Jules and read its documentation for usage constraints.

The beta's use data will help us:

Increase system and task quality

Recognition of real-world processes

Instruct future price models

Task limits

Users have these default restrictions:

Three tasks at once

Five daily chores

Five daily codecasts

If you exceed these limits, Jules will inform you and prevent new tasks until your quota is reset.

When limits are reached:

No new task button.

You can evaluate or manage ongoing tasks since a tooltip or error message explains why.

No changes to feedback or task history.

Requesting bigger limits

Requesting bigger limits

If you use Jules daily for development or have a larger team, you will request more limits.

Requesting greater limits:

[crushng]

tried to do one of those kin wheel things for gin. if you haven’t seen one of these it’s a visual representation of characters that inspired yours or otherwise you think are very similar to your character 🥰

template below the cut if you wanna play, along with a list of the characters if you don’t recognize them, and some notes about why these characters

center: it’s gin!

left inside top: doctor who from the show of the same name. while i’ve only seen bits and pieces, the bits i have seen were very influential on gin. mostly i saw the one special where there were multiple doctors running around. he’s a quirky metaphysical traveler with a dark past who picks up friends just to not be so lonely anymore. and doesn’t seem all that dangerous at first but is very dangerous.

right inside top: the engineer from in space with markiplier. the original ginspo. and the guy who gave gin his name. i don’t consider gin to be literally this guy anymore (though i still play in this sandbox). but the influence is pervasive and the themes of iswm run through most any gin concept ive ever come up with.

left inside bottom: star-lord from guardians of the galaxy. honestly the entire gotg series was very influential on the weird quirkiness gin carries with him. i think he would fit really nicely into the world. kind of a dream thread setting tbh

right inside bottom: genie from disney’s aladdin. shapeshifting magic guy who loves to be bombastic and show off and crack jokes, who is eager to please and be powerful, and all of that is really a mask for his loneliness.

left outside top: amethyst from steven universe. another shapeshifter! specifically one who is a bit crude and goofy, who is seen as a sort of affront to nature and an outcast.

moving clockwise: cosmic clone mario from super mario galaxy. the whole game is very influential on my concept of space in general, but gin’s visual design is heavily inspired by the cosmic clones. in the game when the clones appear you have to beat them in a race. if you lose, you lose a life. in my child brain i thought they were replacing mario in the world if you lost. they were SO scary to me when i was little 😭😭 additionally if you fall off the edge in certain galaxies you get sucked up by a blackhole and i think that is important to mention lol

moving clockwise: anakin skywalker from star wars. THE tragic hero turned villain. misunderstood, misguided, trying to destroy corruption in the world, and then finally discovering too late that he’s gone too far down the wrong path to stop. the poster child of doubling down.

moving clockwise: loki from marvel. particularly the loki tv show came out around the same time as gin was invented. the concept of the magical Guy who believes himself to be above mere mortals because that’s about all he has going for him. the guy who is actually pretty normal about things when he’s finally forced to reckon for what atrocities he’s committed. surprisingly curious and energetic. the guy who has to be convinced into a redemption arc and never quite commits.

moving clockwise: betelgeuse from beetlejuice the musical. specifically the alex brightman portrayal. i’m aware the movie exists but ive never seen it unfortunately. if you’ve seen ANYTHING beetlejuice you know that gin’s literally so bj coded. crude, rude, quirky, almost kind of innocent in a funky way, would kiss people on the mouth with little warning, would solicit suicidal teenagers for friendship and see nothing wrong with this.

moving clockwise: sam and dean winchester from supernatural. this is largely in regards to one of gin’s mundane verses, where he’s a maybe-psychic weirdo who lives in his car and drifts from place to place. the vibe is very supernatural esque. but overall i do think ye olde boyking sam fandom corners were a big influence on gin’s development as the funky freak he is.

moving clockwise: q from star trek the next generation. first of all, if you’ve never seen tng you’re missing out. it’s really fun. second, q is the most incredible extra dimensional weirdo to ever grace the screen. he seemingly spends his free time largely messing around with humans. sometimes just like, for fun. sometimes because he wants to prove a point and teach them some kind of lesson to better humanity for their future. sometimes i’m not sure even a knows why he’s doing what he’s doing. but he’s flirty, queer coded as hell, and surprisingly well intentioned despite being a mischievous little brat. i love q btw if you can’t tell

moving clockwise: jareth the goblin king from jim henson’s labrynth. played by the illustrious david bowie. ok this is a stretch somewhat because i only saw this movie once in 8th grade but it did have a profound effect on me. jareth i think takes multiple forms in the movie: on one side he’s this sort of projection of sarah’s psyche, a piece of herself that she has to confront over and over. (if you know about dev and the vr lore, you know.) on the other he’s the only other “real” person in the entire story, the only other human, the one link to reality sarah can interact with. he’s also this sort of shallow, hollow person who seems really powerful and scary at first, but his power becomes less scary over the course of the movie until it just seems like a ridiculous shadow. i can say a lot more about this movie and how it relates to gin but i’m just gonna leave it there for now

[malgoinsights02]

Quick Tips for Using Hamster Kombat Clone Software Like a Pro

In the world of gaming, software clones can be a double-edged sword. While they offer a fun, familiar experience, mastering the game mechanics can be tricky without the right knowledge. If you're a fan of Hamster Kombat Clone Software and looking to take your gameplay to the next level, you’ve come to the right place. Below are some quick, pro-level tips to help you outshine your opponents, level up faster, and maximize your experience.

1. Master the Controls

Before diving into intense battles, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the game’s controls. It may seem obvious, but understanding the basic mechanics allows you to react swiftly and efficiently in fast-paced situations. Use the training mode or a sandbox feature if available to practice different combos and moves until they feel second nature.

2. Optimize Your Settings

Every gamer has their preferences, so make sure you adjust the game settings for optimal performance. Whether it’s adjusting the screen resolution, fine-tuning the control sensitivity, or modifying the audio to reduce distractions, setting up your game environment can significantly improve your focus and gameplay.

3. Understand Your Hamster’s Abilities

Each hamster in Hamster Kombat Clone Software has unique abilities. To truly excel, you must take the time to understand how to leverage your character’s strengths and minimize weaknesses. Focus on mastering their special moves and combos to get the upper hand in battles.

4. Utilize Power-Ups Wisely

One of the most exciting features of the game is the availability of power-ups. However, using them at the right moment is key. Don’t waste power-ups on small skirmishes. Instead, save them for critical moments when you’re in danger or during intense face-offs with tougher opponents. Timing is everything!

5. Know the Map

Hamster Kombat isn’t just about being fast; it’s about being strategic. Take time to learn the game’s maps. Familiarizing yourself with each area allows you to plan your moves better, identify power-up locations, and avoid traps or hazards. Knowing the terrain gives you a huge advantage during battle.

6. Play with a Team

If you’re playing the multiplayer mode, forming a strong team is essential. Communication and collaboration are key to success. Work together with your teammates to strategize, control areas of the map, and create distractions that give you the edge over your opponents.

7. Stay Calm Under Pressure

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when the action heats up, but the key to playing like a pro is maintaining a level head. Don’t panic when you’re about to lose a match—take a deep breath and focus on your next move. Staying calm lets you think clearly and make better decisions.

8. Practice, Practice, Practice

Like any other game, practice is essential to mastering Hamster Kombat Clone Software. Don’t expect to become a pro overnight. The more you play, the more you’ll understand the nuances of the game, and the faster you’ll improve your skills. Consistency is key!

9. Join Online Communities

If you’re serious about taking your gameplay to the next level, joining online forums or gaming communities is a great way to gain insights, strategies, and tips from other players. You can learn from others’ experiences, get tips on new updates, and share your own insights.

10. Stay Updated with the Latest Patches

Game developers frequently release updates and patches that fix bugs or introduce new features. To stay competitive, make sure you’re playing the latest version of the software. Keeping your game updated ensures you have access to the latest tools and enhancements, giving you an advantage over others who aren’t up-to-date.

Ready to Play Like a Pro?

Now that you’ve learned these quick tips for mastering Hamster Kombat Clone Software, it’s time to put them into practice! Start training, refine your skills, and soon you’ll be the one dominating the leaderboard.

Don’t forget to share your progress with us and fellow players in the comments below, and subscribe to our blog for more gaming tips and strategies! Keep leveling up—your pro-level gameplay awaits!

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[siliconsignalsblog]

Tailoring Zephyr to Your Hardware: West Manifest Customization

Introduction

The Zephyr Project RTOS (https://zephyrproject.org/), or simply “Zephyr” as it is known colloquially, is an increasingly popular real-time operating system due to its native support for over 450 boards and countless peripherals. Starting from a known baseline is the first step in any embedded software project. This can involve downloading a zip file that represents a particular source code version, as is typically the case with other RTOSes, or cloning a repository from source control, as may be the case with embedded Linux. In order to guarantee that Zephyr development starts from a known baseline, this blog post will outline a personal best practice. As a result, when a client or colleague takes over development of a Zephyr-based project, there are no surprises.

Zephyr is special because it retrieves all of the Zephyr components from various locations, possibly using different mechanisms, using a "meta-tool" called West. Contrast that with a standard software development process, which retrieves the source code from a single repository. A "manifest" file contains instructions for West on how to obtain the various components. A snapshot of the complete Zephyr codebase is provided by the manifest file, which is typically checked into source control.

Strategy

There are two parts to the strategy. We can start by making forks of the repositories where we plan to make changes. Having a dependable location that acts as a sandbox is still crucial, even though the objective is to generate pull requests for pertinent customizations. For instance, a previous blog post (https://zephyrproject.org/supporting-firmware-updates-with-zephyr-nrf/) showed how to add buttonless DFU to MCUBoot, which necessitated making a fork of MCUBoot. A bug we've found or a feature we want to add may also require us to change one of the Zephyr subsystems. We can make a fork of the Zephyr repository in the interim, but it would be best to submit a pull request (PR) following their guidelines (https://docs.zephyrproject.org/latest/contribute/guidelines.html).

We can describe our entire codebase in a custom West manifest file after the forks have been created. Nordic Semiconductor has done a lot of work to develop a complete, stable baseline firmware using Zephyr, and we can start by using their West manifest file (https://github.com/nrfconnect/sdk-nrf/blob/main/west.yml) to assist their customers in getting started. Nordic's manifest file can be modified as needed and used as our own. First, we can include a "remote" with the repository's base URL and a descriptive name:

remotes:

.

.

.

        - name: <a descriptive name>

          url-base: <base repository URL>

Second, we must tell West to use MCUBoot and our fork of Zephyr. When no remote is specified for a specific codebase, Nordic Semiconductor's repository is used as the "default" in their manifest file: In order to prevent West from using Nordic's repositories, we must include our remote in the Zephyr and MCUBoot entries: ...            - name: <zephyr repository name>                path: zephyr          revision: <git commit/branch>          remote: <a descriptive name>...        - name: <mcuboot repository name>          path: bootloader/mcuboot          revision: <git commit/branch>          remote: <a descriptive name>

Putting It All Together

Following the aforementioned modifications and uploading the updated West manifest file, we can use the modified West manifest file by running the following command, which will import our MCUBoot and Zephyr forks: $> west init -m <West manifest repo> --mr <commit/branch>

The “--mr” option can be used to specify a particular commit or branch; this may be useful if the default branch is not master (as in the case of Github, which uses “main” as the default branch).

To sum up, this blog post explained how to create a custom West manifest file, which is a good place to start when developing Zephyr firmware. Because a third-party repository might have changed, a custom West manifest file guarantees that there are no surprises during development. A deliberate choice to upgrade to a newer Zephyr version can be made once the firmware is stable and feature-complete.

Ready to optimize your hardware with customized Zephyr RTOS solutions? At Silicon Signals, we specialize in embedded hardware design, software development, and tailored solutions that align with your project requirements.

🚀 Contact us today to discuss how we can accelerate your development with Zephyr and create a robust foundation for your embedded applications!