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by: Temani Afif Fri, 30 May 2025 13:45:43 +0000 Ready for the second part? We are still exploring the shape() function, and more precisely, the arc command. I hope you took the time to digest the first part because we will jump straight into creating more shapes! As a reminder, the shape() function is only supported in Chrome 137+ and Safari 18.4+ as I’m writing this in May 2025. Sector shape Another classic shape that can also be used in pie-like charts. It’s already clear that we have one arc. As for the points, we have two points that don’t move and one that moves depending on how much the sector is filled. The code will look like this: .sector { --v: 35; /* [0 100]*/ aspect-ratio: 1; clip-path: shape(from top, arc to X Y of R, line to center); } We define a variable that will control the filling of the sector. It has a value between 0 and 100. To draw the shape, we start from the top, create an arc until the point (X, Y), and then we move to the center. Yes! Unlike the polygon() function, we have keywords for the particular cases such as top, bottom, left, etc. It’s exactly like background-position that way. I don’t think I need to detail this part as it’s trivial, but it’s good to know because it can make your shape a bit easier to read. The radius of the arc should be equal to 50%. We are working with a square element and the sector, which is a portion of a circle, need to fill the whole element so the radius is equal to half the width (or height).1 As for the point, it’s placed within that circle, and its position depends on the V value. You don’t want a boring math explanation, right? No need for it, here is the formula of X and Y: X = 50% + 50% * sin(V * 3.6deg) Y = 50% - 50% * cos(V * 3.6deg) Our code becomes: .sector { --v: 35; /* [0 100] */ aspect-ratio: 1; clip-path: shape(from top, arc to calc(50% + 50% * sin(var(--v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - 50% * cos(var(--v) * 3.6deg)) of 50%, line to center); } CodePen Embed Fallback Hmm, the result is not good, but there are no mistakes in the code. Can you figure out what we are missing? It’s the size and direction of the arc! Remember what I told you in the last article? You will always have trouble with them, but if we try the different combinations, we can easily fix the issue. In our case, we need to use: small cw. CodePen Embed Fallback Better! Let’s try it with more values and see how the shape behaves: CodePen Embed Fallback Oops, some values are good, but others not so much. The direction needs to be clockwise, but maybe we should use large instead of small? Let’s try: CodePen Embed Fallback Still not working. The issue here is that we are moving one point of the arc based on the V value, and this movement creates a different configuration for the arc command. Here is an interactive demo to better visualize what is happening: CodePen Embed Fallback When you update the value, notice how large cw always tries to follow the largest arc between the points, while small cw tries to follow the smallest one. When the value is smaller than 50, small cw gives us a good result. But when it’s bigger than 50, the large cw combination is the good one. I know, it’s a bit tricky and I wanted to study this particular example to emphasize the fact that we can have a lot of headaches working with arcs. But the more issues we face, the better we get at fixing them. The solution in this case is pretty simple. We keep the use of large cw and add a border-radius to the element. If you check the previous demo, you will notice that even if large cw is not producing a good result, it’s filling the area we want. All we need to do is clip the extra space and a simple border-radius: 50% will do the job! CodePen Embed Fallback I am keeping the box-shadow in there so we can see the arc, but we can clearly see how border-radius is making a difference on the main shape. There is still one edge case we need to consider. When the value is equal to 100, both points of the arc will have the same coordinates, which is logical since the sector is full and we have a circle. But when it’s the case, the arc will do nothing by definition and we won’t get a full circle. To fix this, we can limit the value to, for example, 99.99 to avoid reaching 100. It’s kind of hacky, but it does the job. .sector { --v: 35; /* [0 100]*/ --_v: min(99.99, var(--v)); aspect-ratio: 1; clip-path: shape(from top, arc to calc(50% + 50% * sin(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - 50% * cos(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) of 50% large cw, line to center); border-radius: 50%; } Now our shape is perfect! And don’t forget that you can apply it to image elements: CodePen Embed Fallback Arc shape Similar to the sector shape, we can also create an arc shape. After all, we are working with the arc command, so we have to do it. We already have half the code since it’s basically a sector shape without the inner part. We simply need to add more commands to cut the inner part. .arc { --v: 35; --b: 30px; --_v: min(99.99, var(--v)); aspect-ratio: 1; clip-path: shape(from top, arc to calc(50% + 50% * sin(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - 50% * cos(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) of 50% cw large, line to calc(50% + (50% - var(--b)) * sin(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - (50% - var(--b)) * cos(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)), arc to 50% var(--b) of calc(50% - var(--b)) large ); border-radius: 50%; } From the sector shape, we remove the line to center piece and replace it with another line command that moves to a point placed on the inner circle. If you compare its coordinates with the previous point, you will see an offset equal to --b, which is a variable that defines the arc’s thickness. Then we draw an arc in the opposite direction (ccw) until the point 50% var(--b), which is also a point with an offset equal to --b from the top. I am not defining the direction of the second arc since, by default, the browser will use ccw. CodePen Embed Fallback Ah, the same issue we hit with the sector shape is striking again! Not all the values are giving a good result due to the same logic we saw earlier, and, as you can see, border-radius is not fixing it. This time, we need to find a way to conditionally change the size of the arc based on the value. It should be large when V is bigger than 50, and small otherwise. Conditions in CSS? Yes, it’s possible! First, let’s convert the V value like this: --_f: round(down, var(--_v), 50) The value is within the range [0 99.99] (don’t forget that we don’t want to reach the value 100). We use round() to make sure it’s always equal to a multiple of a specific value, which is 50 in our case. If the value is smaller than 50, the result is 0, otherwise it’s 50. There are only two possible values, so we can easily add a condition. If --_f is equal to 0 we use small; otherwise, we use large: .arc { --v: 35; --b: 30px; --_v: min(99.99, var(--v)); --_f: round(down,var(--_v), 50); --_c: if(style(--_f: 0): small; else: large); clip-path: shape(from top, arc to calc(50% + 50% * sin(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - 50% * cos(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) of 50% cw var(--_c), line to calc(50% + (50% - var(--b)) * sin(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - (50% - var(--b)) * cos(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)), arc to 50% var(--b) of calc(50% - var(--b)) var(--_c) ); } I know what you are thinking, but let me tell you that the above code is valid. You probably don’t know it yet, but CSS has recently introduced inline conditionals using an if() syntax. It’s still early to play with it, but we have found a perfect use case for it. Here is a demo that you can test using Chrome Canary: CodePen Embed Fallback Another way to express conditions is to rely on style queries that have better support: .arc { --v: 35; --b: 30px; --_v: min(99.99, var(--v)); --_f: round(down, var(--_v), 50); aspect-ratio: 1; container-name: arc; } .arc:before { content: ""; clip-path: shape(from top, arc to calc(50% + 50% * sin(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - 50% * cos(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) of 50% cw var(--_c, large), line to calc(50% + (50% - var(--b)) * sin(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - (50% - var(--b)) * cos(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)), arc to 50% var(--b) of calc(50% - var(--b)) var(--_c, large) ); @container style(--_f: 0) { --_c: small } } The logic is the same but, this feature requires a parent-child relation, which is why I am using a pseudo-element. By default, the size will be large, and if the value of --_f is equal to 0, we switch to small. CodePen Embed Fallback Note that we have to register the variable --_f using @property to be able to either use the if() function or style queries. Did you notice another subtle change I have made to the shape? I removed border-radius and I applied the conditional logic to the first arc. Both have the same issue, but border-radius can fix only one of them while the conditional logic can fix both, so we can optimize the code a little. Arc shape with rounded edges What about adding rounded edges to our arc? It’s better, right? Can you see how it’s done? Take it as a small exercise and update the code from the previous examples to add those rounded edges. I hope you are able to find it by yourself because the changes are pretty straightforward — we update one line command with an arc command and we add another arc command at the end. clip-path: shape(from top, arc to calc(50% + 50% * sin(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - 50% * cos(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) of 50% cw var(--_c, large), arc to calc(50% + (50% - var(--b)) * sin(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) calc(50% - (50% - var(--b)) * cos(var(--_v) * 3.6deg)) of 1% cw, arc to 50% var(--b) of calc(50% - var(--b)) var(--_c, large), arc to top of 1% cw ); If you do not understand the changes, get out a pen and paper, then draw the shape to better see the four arcs we are drawing. Previously, we had two arcs and two lines, but now we are working with arcs instead of lines. And did you remember the trick of using a 1% value for the radius? The new arcs are half circles, so we can rely on that trick where you specify a tiny radius and the browser will do the job for you and find the correct value! CodePen Embed Fallback Conclusion We are done — enough about the arc command! I had to write two articles that focus on this command because it’s the trickiest one, but I hope it’s now clear how to use it and how to handle the direction and size thing, as that is probably the source of most headaches. By the way, I have only studied the case of circular arcs because, in reality, we can specify two radii and draw elliptical ones, which is even more complex. Unless you want to become a shape() master, you will rarely need elliptical arcs, so don’t bother yourself with them. Until the next article, I wrote an article for Frontend Masters where you can create more fancy shapes using the arc command that is a good follow-up to this one. Footnotes (1) The arc command is defined to draw elliptical arcs by taking two radii, but if we define one radius value, it means that the vertical and horizontal radius will use that same value and we have circular arcs. When it’s a length, it’s trivial, but when we use percentages, the value will resolve against the direction-agnostic size, which is equal to the length of the diagonal of the box, divided by sqrt(2). In our case, we have a square element so 50% of the direction-agnostic size will be equal to 50% of sqrt(Width² + Height²)/sqrt(2). And since both width and height are equal, we end with 50% of the width (or the height). ⮑ Better CSS Shapes Using shape() — Part 2: More on Arcs originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.

by: Abhishek Prakash Fri, 30 May 2025 17:30:45 +0530 An interesting development came from Microsoft as it released a new terminal-based editor with open source license. I kind of liked it at first glance until I tried my hands on a shell script written in this editor and then I ran into: The issue is that it added the classic Windows-style line endings, which is not liked by UNIX-like systems. I knew it was too good to be true to have something perfect for Linux from Microsoft 🤦 Here are the highlights of this edition : Open-source notification Inbox infrastructureListmonk newsletterHistorical view of system resource utilizationBang bang... shebangAnd memes, news and tools to discover🚀 Level up your coding skills and build your own botsHarness the power of machine learning to create digital agents and more with hot courses like Learning LangChain, The Developer's Playbook for Large Language Model Security, Designing Large Language Model Applications, and more. Part of the purchase goes to Code for America! Check out the ebook bundle here. Humble Tech Book Bundle: Machine Learning, AI, and Bots by O’Reilly 2025Master machine learning with this comprehensive library of coding and programming courses from the pros at O’Reilly.Humble Bundle       This post is for subscribers only Subscribe now Already have an account? Sign in

by: Abhishek Prakash Thu, 29 May 2025 04:29:31 GMT Important thing first. Ubuntu 20.04 LTS version will be reaching its end of life on 31st May. It was released in April 2020 and had a standard support of five years. Please check your Ubuntu version and if you are using 20.04, you can: Do a fresh installation of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS to get the latest packages.Upgrade to Ubuntu 22.04 LTS from your existing 20.04 installation, keeping your files intact.Opt for Ubuntu Pro, which will ensure you get essential security patches until 2030 but no new software.Ubuntu 20.04 LTS is Reaching End of Life — Here are Your OptionsUpgrade or sign-up for extended support before it is too late!It's FOSS NewsSourav RudraTime to plan your update. 💬 Let's see what else you get in this edition A new Linux kernel release.File permission in Linux.GNU Taler payment system being approved for Swiss use.And other Linux news, tips, and, of course, memes!This edition of FOSS Weekly is supported by PikaPods.❇️ PikaPods: Enjoy Self-hosting Hassle-freePikaPods allows you to quickly deploy your favorite open source software. All future updates are handled automatically by PikaPods while you enjoy using the software. PikaPods also share revenue with the original developers of the software. You get a $5 free credit to try it out and see if you can rely on PikaPods. PikaPods - Instant Open Source App HostingRun the finest Open Source web apps from $1.20/month, fully managed, no tracking, no ads, full privacy. Self-hosting was never this convenient.Instant Open Source App Hosting📰 Linux and Open Source NewsGNU Taler has officially entered the Swiss market.Linux kernel 6.15 is here with a Rust-based NVIDIA driver.SteamOS now officially supports more handhelds than just the Steam Deck.Qt has introduced Qt Bridges, a new piece of tech for bridging Qt applications with other frameworks and programming languages.Rhino Linux's new UBXI KDE Desktop doesn't disappoint. Hands-On with Rhino Linux’s New UBXI KDE 6 DesktopRhino Linux’s first UBXI port is here!It's FOSS NewsSourav Rudra🧠 What We’re Thinking AboutCarmen from Mission Libre has started a petition to get Qualcomm to release fully-free drivers for their in-production chipsets. If the petition is signed by 5,000 people, a hardcopy of the petition and signatures will be mailed to Qualcomm's head office. We can get 5,000 signatures, can't we? Home | Tell Qualcomm: Publish Free Drivers for Modern Wi-Fi Chipsets!Tell Qualcomm: Publish Free Drivers for Modern Wi-Fi Chipsets!🧮 Linux Tips, Tutorials and MoreVS Code on Arch is possible and easy.Understand the concept of file permission. It's a must-know for Linux users.Want more from Obsidian? Our plugin guide can be helpful.Looking for some note taking apps suggestion? We have an extensive list. Top 16 Best Note Taking Apps For Linux [2025]Plenty of amazing note-taking apps for Linux. Here’s what we recommend you to check out.It's FOSSAnkush Das Why should you opt for It's FOSS Plus membership: ✅ Ad-free reading experience ✅ Badges in the comment section and forum ✅ Supporting creation of educational Linux materials Join It's FOSS Plus 👷 Homelab and Maker's CornerWhile it is a proprietary piece of hardware, Flexbar can be a nice addition to your Linux setup. Miss Apple’s Touch Bar? Flexbar Brings This Experience to LinuxWhile Apple has discontinued the Touch Bar, Linux users can now enjoy the same experience with Flexbar.It's FOSS NewsSourav RudraAlso, learn a thing or two about MCP servers, the latest buzzword in the (AI) tech world. ✨ Apps HighlightIf you ever wanted to run an operating system inside your browser, then Puter is the solution for you. It is open source and can be self-hosted as well. Puter is a Complete, Fully Functional OS that Runs in Your Web BrowserRun an operating system straight from your browser.It's FOSS NewsSourav RudraAn It's FOSS reader created an FFmpeg AAC Audio Encoder Plugin for DaVinci Resolve. This will help you get effortless AAC audio encoding on Linux if you use DaVinci Resolve video editor. 📽️ Videos I am Creating for YouI tried Microsoft's new terminal editor on Linux! I hate to admit it but I liked what I saw here. This is an excellent approach. I wonder why Linux didn't have something like this before. See it in action 👇 Subscribe to It's FOSS YouTube Channel🧩 Quiz TimeCan you identify all the GitHub alternatives in this puzzle? GitHub Alternatives: PuzzleSolve this puzzle by figuring out the alternatives to GitHub!It's FOSSAnkush Das💡 Quick Handy TipIn Xfce, you can use the panel item "Directory Menu" to get quick access to files from anywhere. This is like the Places extension in GNOME, but better. In the configuration menu for it, provide the file extension in the following format *.txt;*.jsonc as shown in the screenshot above to access the files quickly. Clicking on those files opens it in the default app. 🤣 Meme of the WeekThe ricing never stops! 👨‍💻 🗓️ Tech TriviaOn May 27, 1959, MIT retired the Whirlwind computer, a groundbreaking machine famous for pioneering real-time computing and magnetic core memory. 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 FOSSverse CornerProFOSSer Sheila is having an issue with MX Linux, can you help? MX Linux / XFCE missing desktop background image!I am at a loss as to how to fix a new issue on MX-Linux Xfce that started about 30 min ago. I was working on things and my windows are always only expanded far enough right so that I can still see my Conky (top-right on desktop). I clicked outside the window on Conky and it disappeared. So did the background image. Later, switching workspaces, I found the same was true on all of them and when I right clicked on the desktop, no context menu. I went in to the desktop settings and tried to apply a…It's FOSS CommunitySheila_Flanagan❤️ With loveShare it with your Linux-using friends and encourage them to subscribe (hint: it's here). Share the articles in Linux Subreddits and community forums. Follow us on Google News and stay updated in your News feed. Opt for It's FOSS Plus membership and support us 🙏 Enjoy FOSS 😄

by: Women in Tech Wed, 28 May 2025 21:38:08 +0000 In this Q&A, we sit down with Tina Schniebs, Board Treasurer for Women in Technology (WIT) and a digital finance risk management Deputy Director at Ridgeline International. She shares her insights on the Leadership Foundry, her journey through the program and advice for women considering board service. Tina Schniebs, WIT Treasurer and Chair, Finance Committee Can you start by telling us a bit about your roles with WIT and Ridgeline International? At WIT, I serve as the Board Treasurer, overseeing the Finance Committee and ensuring our financials run smoothly. In my day job, I work in digital finance risk management, where I teach, consult and speak on how digitizing finance impacts our everyday lives and our federal, defense and intelligence communities – and how they can use technology, both offensively and defensively, to achieve their mission objectives. What is the Leadership Foundry and how did you get involved? WIT’s mission is to empower women in technology from the classroom to the boardroom, guiding women from early career stages through executive leadership and board service. The Leadership Foundry fulfills the second part of that mission. When I first heard about it, I had just started a business. I was heavily focused on getting it up and running, so I knew I was not yet in a position to take on a board seat within the company that we had grown. The program seemed like a great opportunity to better understand what board service entails and get connected with other organizations that are looking for board members with experience bringing up a small business successfully. How has the program evolved over time and how did the new certification enhance your experience? I first joined during COVID, which was challenging due to the virtual format, but the program has since evolved to include a board certification, providing a clear focus on preparing participants for actual board roles. The changes that they made for this new cohort really nailed down the point of the experience – it’s not just learning what being a board member is like, but actually wanting to be on a board and being prepared to do it. While the certification isn't strictly necessary, it adds value by clearly defining the purpose of the Leadership Foundry for participants. It provides a structured curriculum and connects participants with a network of people as part of the National Association of Certified Directors (NACD), helping women access board opportunities. It’s not just about learning what a board is; it's about preparing to serve on one. Can you describe the structure of the Leadership Foundry program? The program includes monthly in-person meetings featuring guest speakers with board experience, covering topics like private company boards, venture funding and public board challenges. There’s also a weekly virtual study group to discuss the certification material, fostering a collaborative learning environment. My cohort was small, with just six women, which allowed for close networking. My cohort of women were very much ready to do board service, or had done some sort of board service in the past. So they were very focused on, I want a public company board seat – I'm looking for access to that board seat. How do I get that? What's the networking that I need to do? What does public company service look like versus private company service? What's the difference between a non-profit board and a for-profit board? How did the program help you grow professionally? The most transformative aspect was learning to shift my mindset from executive decision-making to board-level thinking. Being an executive doesn't necessarily prepare you for a board role, where the focus is on risk management and strategic oversight rather than day-to-day operations. Networking with accomplished women in my cohort and hearing firsthand accounts from experienced board members were also invaluable. In fact, I did a think tank event with one of the ladies from the cohort, Theresa Caragol, about risk management and things that we learned about each other. I think it's also given me a lot more confidence in stepping up to the table and saying: I have a voice too. I understand this stuff. I went through this training program, so I know what I'm talking about. I know that this is what we're supposed to be doing, rather than just relying on your instincts. It gives you a little bit more certainty in the guidance that you're providing to the organization. How did the program push you outside of your comfort zone? How did it help you address challenges unique to women in leadership? The industry I've been in for 23 years is male dominated, and I was the only woman at our company for the first 13 months. It was very comfortable in that position, but being with this cohort of women helped me to better understand what their challenges are and how they navigated their career fields to get where they were. One of the speakers that joined us, for instance, was a man that is doing venture funding in the seed capital rounds. It came up during that discussion that there is less funding provided to women, and particularly minority women, in the seed funding fields. That really opened a neuron chain for me. I didn't realize that there was that kind of bias because as a financial advisor, you look at the balance, your profitability or the numbers. I'm a big advocate of financial privacy – if the applications were filled out in a way where you couldn't see the biographic information of the person actually filing the application, wouldn’t that make the playing field more fair? Companies should only be quantitatively evaluating a company for their growth potential, not qualitatively evaluating the employees or the founders. The certification test was also tough, requiring a shift in thinking from executive to risk manager. The test involves scenario-based questions with a unique scoring system where answering incorrectly hurts your score, but not answering at all has no impact. It was a challenging format, but it reinforced the mindset shift the program aims to teach. What advice would you give to women considering applying to join the Leadership Foundry? It's important to understand why you want to pursue board service. The program is ideal for those with executive experience who are ready to make the transition, not for middle managers or those still considering their career direction. If you want to get in and you think that the Leadership Foundry is the right step for you, you need to focus on the reasons that you want to be a director or a board member – what is the thing that you want to do next in your career and why? Board service, in a lot of situations, is a part time position and it doesn't pay. And if it does pay, you've bought stock, or you had to financially invest in the company that you're getting on the board for. So you really have to think, am I willing to split my time between their full time job and a board position? If you're unsure, there are resources to help you decide if board service is right for you. But we also need a space for women within WIT to ask the questions: What is board service? How does it work? Is it right for me? Is this the next step in my career that I actually want to take? Or do I want to specialize in my area? Do I want to go into executive leadership? Do you have a risk mindset? Do you have the kind of a mindset that puts you in a position to make hard decisions outside of what an executive would make? That's a consideration that you need to make, because board service is not for everybody. It’s okay to be a subject matter expert or operator without pursuing executive or board roles. We need to emphasize that career satisfaction comes from finding the right path, not necessarily following traditional progressions. Ready to take your career to the next level? Applications for The Leadership Foundry are now open! Apply Now

by: Adnan Shabbir Wed, 28 May 2025 05:55:55 +0000 Ubuntu 25.04, codenamed Plucky Puffin, released in April 2025, is an interim release supported for 9 months (until Jan 2026). Ubuntu 25.04 is equipped with experimental features that will be tested until the next LTS, 26.04, and if declared stable, these features will be carried forward and may be part of Ubuntu 26.04, the next Ubuntu LTS in line. In today’s guide, I’ll give you a brief overview of Ubuntu 25.04, what it looks like, and what other features are included in the development and testing. Outline: What’s New in Ubuntu 25.04 Codenamed Plucky Puffin? GNOME 48 Kernel .14 Security Center Updated apt Installation Interface Well-Being HDR Display – High Dynamic Range Other Notable Updates in Ubuntu 25.04 How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04 Conclusion What’s New in Ubuntu 25.04 Codenamed Plucky Puffin? With every interim release (just like Ubuntu 25.04), there comes a list of new features to be tested and some improvements to existing functionalities. This time we are focusing on Ubuntu 25.04, some major as well as minor updates will be provided: GNOME 48 Ubuntu 24.04 is based on GNOME 46, whereas at the moment of writing this post, Ubuntu 25.04 is being experimented with GNOME 48. As of now, GNOME 48 is more modern and graphics-friendly, which is always, i.e., the latest version is supposed to overcome the deficiency of the previous GNOME version and improve over time. Kernel 6.14 The kernel is the central nervous system of Linux, i.e., a bridge between the hardware and the software. Ubuntu 25.04 comes with a Kernel 6.14 (Upstream), i.e., developed and maintained by Linus Torvalds and the Linux kernel maintainers. The first official release of Ubuntu 24.04 contained the Kernel 6.8. However, Ubuntu 24.04.2 is now updated to the Linux Kernel 6.11. Security Center Although Ubuntu is an open-source OS and is more secure than other OSs. However, to align with this top-tech era, Ubuntu might be seeking some additional application support. These applications require some permissions that a user has to give for smooth functionality. To deal with such permissions, Ubuntu has released a Security Center in this release, so that users may turn on or off the permissions. Here’s the initial interface of the Security Center, where you can see that the feature is experimental at the moment. If you enable it, the strictly confined apps request permissions. The app permissions can be checked in the settings, i.e., “Settings > Apps” Updated apt Installation Interface An interactive UI for the apt-based installations and uninstallations: Uninstalling: Well-Being This is about the well-being of the Ubuntu lovers. The users can enable it and set the following features: Screen Time: Set the average screen time usage. Eyesight Reminder: A reminder to look away from the screen. Movement Reminder: A reminder to move around. Document Viewer (PDF Viewer) Ubuntu 25.04 is now equipped with a built-in Document Viewer for various types of files. You can open a variety of files on this viewer, i.e., PDF, comic books, DjVU, and TIFF documents. Here’s the document viewer: HDR Display – High Dynamic Range High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a state-of-the-art technology to provide better display with advanced coloring sense of the HDR technology. This is one of the significant additions in this update list. If you have an HDR monitor, now, you can attach it to your Ubuntu 25.04 to experience HDR displays. Head over to “Settings > Display > HDR” to manage it. Other Notable Updates in Ubuntu 25.04 Color to Color Management: The Color section in the “Settings” has been replaced with Color Management in the Settings. Timezone in Events: Ubuntu 25.04 provides timezone support while creating events in the calendar. Here’s how you can locate it in the Calendar app of Ubuntu 25.04: JPEG XL Image Support: JPEG XL is an image type (an enhanced JPEG), and now it is supported by Ubuntu and providing a better experience for the users. Notification Grouping: Ubuntu 25.04 has now offered a notification grouping inside the notifications, making it easier for users to navigate through multiple notifications. Yaru Theme: The icon and theme experience is better than the previous releases. The icons are now more dynamic and are well integrated with the accent color support. Updated Network Manager: Ubuntu 25.04 has an updated Network Manager 1.52, whereas Ubuntu 24.04.2 (released parallel to Ubuntu 25.04) has 1.46. The significant change is that Network Manager 1.52 is more aligned towards IPv6 as compared to the 1.46 version. Chrony (Network Time Protocol): Ubuntu 25.04 has adopted Chrony as its Network Time Protocol client (SUSE and RHEL inspired), which synchronizes the system time as per the NTP servers, i.e., a GPS receiver. Until now, Ubuntu has been using “systemd-timesync” as its Network Time Protocol client, which is also known as SNTP (Simple Network Time Protocol). The SNTP synchronizes the system clock with the remote server and has less accuracy when compared with Chrony (Full NTP). What is NTP? The purpose of the NTP is to synchronize the clocks of the systems over a network to ensure the security, performance, event coordination, and logging. NTP ensures the time sync is as accurate as possible, i.e., in milliseconds / submilliseconds. Developer Tools and Libraries: Since Ubuntu is well-liked in the developer community, the Ubuntu contributors continuously work on providing updated tools. Ubuntu 25.04 is equipped with updated tools, i.e., Python, GCC, Rust, and Go. Similarly, a few of the developers associated libraries are also upgraded, i.e., glibc, binutils, and OpenSSL. Gaming Support (NVIDIA Dynamic Boost): The NVIDIA dynamic boost enables the gamer to manage the power between the CPU and GPU. This is now enabled by default in Ubuntu 25.04. System Monitor’s Interface: Ubuntu’s system monitor shows information about the processes, resources, and file systems. In Ubuntu 25.04, there is a slight change in the interface of the Ubuntu System Monitor. For instance, the info inside the processes tab is restricted to, i.e., ID, CPU, Memory, Disk Write, and Disk Read. Here’s the interface where you can see this. However, in older versions, the Processes tab has some additional info for each process: That’s all from the notable features of Ubuntu 25.04. Would you like to upgrade your Ubuntu to Ubuntu 25.04? How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04 Plucky Puffin If you are using any other release of Ubuntu (Ubuntu 25.10 or Ubuntu 24.04), you can easily upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04. Let’s go through the steps to upgrade: Important Note: If you are using a Ubuntu LTS release other than Ubuntu 24.04, then you have to first upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04: Upgrade Ubuntu to the Latest LTS Once upgraded to Ubuntu 24.04, you are now ready to follow the steps below and upgrade to Ubuntu 24.10. Step 1: Upgrade Your Ubuntu to Ubuntu 24.10 Since it is an interim release, you must have the previous release installed to get Ubuntu 25.04. Here’s how you can upgrade to Ubuntu 24.10: Update and upgrade the system repositories: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade Note: It is recommended to use “sudo apt autoremove” after update/upgrade, to clean up the system from any useless dependencies/packages that are not required. If you are using Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, then you have to enable the non-LTS release upgrade. For that, open the release-upgrader file in an editor: sudo nano /etc/update-manager/release-upgrades Now, change the “Prompt” parameter’s value from “lts” to “normal”, as can be seen below: Start the upgrade using the do-release-upgrade command: sudo do-release-upgrade Here you go: Press “y” to proceed with the installation: While upgrading, you will be prompted several times asking for acceptance of the changes being processed: Step 2: Upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04 Once you are in Ubuntu 24.10, use the do-release command again to upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04: sudo do-release-upgrade Note: If you get any prompt like “please install all updates available for your release”, then use the command “sudo apt dist-upgrade” and reboot to fix it. Here’s the Ubuntu 25.04: That’s all from this guide. Conclusion Ubuntu 25.04, codenamed “Plucky Puffin”, is an interim Ubuntu release supported for 9 months. Ubuntu 25.04, released in April 2025, features the updated GNOME (48), updated Kernel (6.14), an improved apt version (3.0), and a security center. Other features include the HDR display, enhanced color management, timezone support in events, etc. This post briefly lists the notable features of Ubuntu 25.04 and also explains the process to upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04. FAQS How Long Will Ubuntu 25.04 be Supported? Ubuntu 25.04 will be supported until January 2026. Since Ubuntu 25.04 is an interim release and an Ubuntu interim release is supported for 9 months after its release. Is Ubuntu 25.04 LTS? No, Ubuntu 25.04 is an interim release, not an LTS. The current latest LTS is Ubuntu 24.04 codenamed Noble Numba, and the next in line LTS is Ubuntu 26.04. How to Upgrade to Ubuntu 25.04? First, upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04, then to 24.10, and from there, you can upgrade to Ubuntu 25.10.

by: Abhishek Prakash Wed, 28 May 2025 03:29:07 GMT There are two main choices for getting VS Code on Arch Linux: Install Code - OSS from Arch repositoriesInstall Microsoft's VS Code from AURI know. It's confusing. Let me clear the air for you. VS Code is an open source project but the binaries Microsoft distributes are not open source. They have telemetry enabled in it. Code - OSS is the actual open source version of VS Code. Think of Code - OSS as Chromium browser and VS Code as Google Chrome (which is based on Chromium browser). Another thing here is that some extensions will only work in VS Code, not in the de-Micorsoft Code - OSS. This is why you should think it through if you want to use Microsoft's VS Code or its 100% open sourced version. Let me show you the steps for both installation. Method 1: Install Code - OSS ✅ Open source version of Microsoft VS Code ✅ Easy to install with a quick pacman command ❌ Some extensions may not workThis is simple. All you have to do is to ensure that your Arch system is updated: pacman -SyuAnd then install Code - OSS with: pacman -S codeIt cannot be simpler than this, can it? As I mentioned earlier, you may find some extensions that do not work in the open source version of Code. Also, I had noticed earlier that Ctrl+C - Ctrl+V was not working for copy paste. Instead, it was defaulted to Ctrl+Shift+C and Ctrl+Shift+V for reasons not known to me. I had not made any changes to key bindings or had opted for a Vim plugin. Removing Code OSSRemoval is equally simple: sudo pacman -R codeMethod 2: Install the actual Microsoft's VS Code✅ Popular Microsoft VS Code that is used by most people ✅ Access to all proprietary features and extensions in the marketplace ❌ Installation may take effort if you don't have an AUR helperIf you don't care too much about ethics, open source principles and just want to code without thinking it too much, go with VS Code. There are a couple of VS Code offerings available in the AUR but the official one is this. Before installing it, you should remove Code OSS sudo pacman -R codeIf you have an AUR helper like yay already installed, use it like this: yay -S visual-studio-code-binOtherwise, install yay first and then use it to install the desired package. Don't be deceived by the pretty looking screenshot above. I was using a different theme in VS Code. RemovalYou can use your AUR helper or the super reliable pacman command to remove Microsoft VS Code from Arch Linux. sudo pacman -R visual-studio-code-binI let you enjoy your preferred version of VS Code on Arch Linux. Please feel free to use the comment section if you have questions or suggestions.

by: Abhishek Prakash Tue, 27 May 2025 21:57:07 +0530 Paste your YAML content or upload a file to validate syntax. Scroll down to see the details on the errors, if any. YAML Validator Tool

by: Daniel Schwarz Tue, 27 May 2025 13:02:32 +0000 The reading-flow and reading-order proposed CSS properties are designed to specify the source order of HTML elements in the DOM tree, or in simpler terms, how accessibility tools deduce the order of elements. You’d use them to make the focus order of focusable elements match the visual order, as outlined in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.2). To get a better idea, let’s just dive in! (Oh, and make sure that you’re using Chrome 137 or higher.) reading-flow reading-flow determines the source order of HTML elements in a flex, grid, or block layout. Again, this is basically to help accessibility tools provide the correct focus order to users. The default value is normal (so, reading-flow: normal). Other valid values include: flex-visual flex-flow grid-rows grid-columns grid-order source-order Let’s start with the flex-visual value. Imagine a flex row with five links. Assuming that the reading direction is left-to-right (by the way, you can change the reading direction with the direction CSS property), that’d look something like this: CodePen Embed Fallback Now, if we apply flex-direction: row-reverse, the links are displayed 5-4-3-2-1. The problem though is that the focus order still starts from 1 (tab through them!), which is visually wrong for somebody that reads left-to-right. CodePen Embed Fallback But if we also apply reading-flow: flex-visual, the focus order also becomes 5-4-3-2-1, matching the visual order (which is an accessibility requirement!): <div> <a>1</a> <a>2</a> <a>3</a> <a>4</a> <a>5</a> </div> div { display: flex; flex-direction: row-reverse; reading-flow: flex-visual; } CodePen Embed Fallback To apply the default flex behavior, reading-flow: flex-flow is what you’re looking for. This is very akin to reading-flow: normal, except that the container remains a reading flow container, which is needed for reading-order (we’ll dive into this in a bit). For now, let’s take a look at the grid-y values. In the grid below, the grid items are all jumbled up, and so the focus order is all over the place. CodePen Embed Fallback We can fix this in two ways. One way is that reading-flow: grid-rows will, as you’d expect, establish a row-by-row focus order: <div> <a>1</a> <a>2</a> <a>3</a> <a>4</a> <a>5</a> <a>6</a> <a>7</a> <a>8</a> <a>9</a> <a>10</a> <a>11</a> <a>12</a> </div> div { display: grid; grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr); grid-auto-rows: 100px; reading-flow: grid-rows; a:nth-child(2) { grid-row: 2 / 4; grid-column: 3; } a:nth-child(5) { grid-row: 1 / 3; grid-column: 1 / 3; } } CodePen Embed Fallback Or, reading-flow: grid-columns will establish a column-by-column focus order: CodePen Embed Fallback reading-flow: grid-order will give us the default grid behavior (i.e., the jumbled up version). This is also very akin to reading-flow: normal (except that, again, the container remains a reading flow container, which is needed for reading-order). There’s also reading-flow: source-order, which is for flex, grid, and block containers. It basically turns containers into reading flow containers, enabling us to use reading-order. To be frank, unless I’m missing something, this appears to make the flex-flow and grid-order values redundant? reading-order reading-order sort of does the same thing as reading-flow. The difference is that reading-order is for specific flex or grid items, or even elements in a simple block container. It works the same way as the order property, although I suppose we could also compare it to tabindex. Note: To use reading-order, the container must have the reading-flow property set to anything other than normal. I’ll demonstrate both reading-order and order at the same time. In the example below, we have another flex container where each flex item has the order property set to a different random number, making the order of the flex items random. Now, we’ve already established that we can use reading-flow to determine focus order regardless of visual order, but in the example below we’re using reading-order instead (in the exact same way as order): div { display: flex; reading-flow: source-order; /* Anything but normal */ /* Features at the end because of the higher values */ a:nth-child(1) { /* Visual order */ order: 567; /* Focus order */ reading-order: 567; } a:nth-child(2) { order: 456; reading-order: 456; } a:nth-child(3) { order: 345; reading-order: 345; } a:nth-child(4) { order: 234; reading-order: 234; } /* Features at the beginning because of the lower values */ a:nth-child(5) { order: -123; reading-order: -123; } } CodePen Embed Fallback Yes, those are some rather odd numbers. I’ve done this to illustrate how the numbers don’t represent the position (e.g., order: 3 or reading-order: 3 doesn’t make it third in the order). Instead, elements with lower numbers are more towards the beginning of the order and elements with higher numbers are more towards the end. The default value is 0. Elements with the same value will be ordered by source order. In practical terms? Consider the following example: div { display: flex; reading-flow: source-order; a:nth-child(1) { order: 1; reading-order: 1; } a:nth-child(5) { order: -1; reading-order: -1; } } CodePen Embed Fallback Of the five flex items, the first one is the one with order: -1 because it has the lowest order value. The last one is the one with order: 1 because it has the highest order value. The ones with no declaration default to having order: 0 and are thus ordered in source order, but otherwise fit in-between the order: -1 and order: 1 flex items. And it’s the same concept for reading-order, which in the example above mirrors order. However, when reversing the direction of flex items, keep in mind that order and reading-order work a little differently. For example, reading-order: -1 would, as expected, and pull a flex item to the beginning of the focus order. Meanwhile, order: -1 would pull it to the end of the visual order because the visual order is reversed (so we’d need to use order: 1 instead, even if that doesn’t seem right!): div { display: flex; flex-direction: row-reverse; reading-flow: source-order; a:nth-child(5) { /* Because of row-reverse, this actually makes it first */ order: 1; /* However, this behavior doesn’t apply to reading-order */ reading-order: -1; } } CodePen Embed Fallback reading-order overrides reading-flow. If we, for example, apply reading-flow: flex-visual, reading-flow: grid-rows, or reading-flow: grid-columns (basically, any declaration that does in fact change the reading flow), reading-order overrides it. We could say that reading-order is applied after reading-flow. What if I don’t want to use flexbox or grid layout? Well, that obviously rules out all of the flex-y and grid-y reading-flow values; however, you can still set reading-flow: source-order on a block element and then manipulate the focus order with reading-order (as we did above). How does this relate to the tabindex HTML attribute? They’re not equivalent. Negative tabindex values make targets unfocusable and values other than 0 and -1 aren’t recommended, whereas a reading-order declaration can use any number as it’s only contextual to the reading flow container that contains it. For the sake of being complete though, I did test reading-order and tabindex together and reading-order appeared to override tabindex. Going forward, I’d only use tabindex (specifically, tabindex="-1") to prevent certain targets from being focusable (the disabled attribute will be more appropriate for some targets though), and then reading-order for everything else. Closing thoughts Being able to define reading order is useful, or at least it means that the order property can finally be used as intended. Up until now (or rather when all web browsers support reading-flow and reading-order, because they only work in Chrome 137+ at the moment), order hasn’t been useful because we haven’t been able to make the focus order match the visual order. What We Know (So Far) About CSS Reading Order originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.

by: Abhishek Prakash Tue, 27 May 2025 01:53:31 GMT How do you get help in the Linux command line? On Linux, there are man pages that come preloaded with any distribution. The man pages are basically help pages which you can access using the terminal. You get an instruction manual when you purchase a new gadget, right? It is just like that. If you want to know what a command does, just use the 'man' keyword followed by the command you would like to know about. While it may seem pretty straightforward, the user experience is a bit dull, as it is all a bunch of text without any decorations or any other features. There are some man page alternatives that have tried to modernize the user experience, or give a specific focus to the man pages for particular users. Let me share my quick experience with them. Subscribe to It's FOSS YouTube Channel1. QmanQman is a modern manual page viewer with navigation, scrolling, hyperlink, and table of contents support. It aims to be fast and offer a couple of features at the same time being a terminal-focused tool. Qman terminal interfaceKey Features: Index page that displays all manual pages available on the system, sorted alphabetically and organized by section.Hyperlinks to other manual pages, URLs and email addresses.Table of Contents for each man pagesIncremental search for manual pages and free page text search.Mouse supportNavigation historyOn-line helpFully configurable using an INI-style config fileQman Command Working InstallationThis supports Arch Linux for easy installation using the following command: yay -Syu qmanFor other systems, you need to build it from source Qman2. TLDRLove cheat sheets? So, you do not have to waste your time scrolling through a barrage of descriptions? That's what TLDR helps you with. It gives short and actionable information for commands to follow. TLDR workingKey Features: Community-maintained help pages.Simpler, more approachable complement to traditional man pages.Help pages focused on practical examplesTL;DR stands for "Too Long; Didn't Read". It originated as Internet slang, where it is used to indicate that a long text (or parts of it) has been skipped as too lengthy.Installation🚧You cannot have tldr and tealdeer installed at the same time.If you need to install Snap for Ubuntu, here is the command to do that: sudo snap install tldrFor Arch Linux and Fedora, the commands are (respectively): sudo pacman -Syu tldr sudo dnf install tldrtldr3. TealdeerIf you want TLDR tool, but built on Rust, Tealdeer should be your pick. Simplified, example based and community-driven man pages. Tealdeer workingI noticed an interesting thing about the project's name and I'll quote it here below from their GitHub page: If you pronounce "tldr" in English, it sounds somewhat like "tealdeer". Hence the project name 😄InstallationIt is available on Debian, Arch Linux, and Fedora repos: sudo apt install tealdeer sudo pacman -Syu tealdeer sudo dnf install tealdeerThere are static binary builds for Linux only. You can also install via cargo: cargo install tealdeerOnce installed, run the command below to update the cache: tldr --updateTo get shell completion in bash: cp completion/bash_tealdeer /usr/share/bash-completion/completions/tldrTealdeer4. Navi Cheat SheetIf you favored a cheat sheet, and want an interactive UI to complement the same, Navi Cheat Sheet is the answer. Navi Interactive Cheat Sheet Key Features: Browse through cheat sheets and execute commands.Set up your own config fileChange colorsCan be either used as a command or as a shell widget (à la Ctrl-R).InstallIn Arch Linux and Fedora, use the commands below: sudo pacman -Syu navi sudo dnf install naviYou can also try using Homebrew: brew install naviOnce installed, run navi. It will suggest a command to add a default set of cheat sheets. Run it: navi repo add denisidoro/cheatsAdd Default Set of Cheat Sheets in Navi Navi GitHub5. Cheat.shIf your focus is only on Cheat sheets, and get the best of community-driven inputs for the same, Cheat.sh is the perfect terminal tool for you. Cheat.sh Working using Local Shell Instance Key Features: Simple interfaceCovers 56 programming languages, several DBMSes, and more than 1000 most important UNIX/Linux commands.No installation needed, but can be installed for offline usage.Has a convenient command line client, cht.shCan be used directly from code editorsSupports a special stealth mode where it can be used fully invisibly without ever touching a key and making sounds.InstallationYou can install it using Curl with the following commands: curl cheat.sh/tar curl cht.sh/curl curl https://cheat.sh/rsync curl https://cht.sh/trTo install locally, first install rlwrap and most. PATH_DIR="$HOME/<a-directory-that-is-in-PATH>" mkdir -p "$PATH_DIR" curl https://cht.sh/:cht.sh > "$PATH_DIR/cht.sh" chmod +x "$PATH_DIR/cht.sh"Cheat.sh6. The MOST PagerAlright, if you are like me, and probably not looking for anything fancy, but just a colorful man page, you can use the Most pager. Most as PagerMOST is a powerful paging program. Supports multiple windows and can scroll left and right. It keeps the same good-old man page look with added colors. Installsudo apt install most sudo dnf install most sudo pacman -Syu mostOnce installed, edit ~/~.bashrc: nano ~/.bashrcTo add the line: export PAGER='most'For the latest most versions, color may not appear by default. In that case, below line to ~/.bashrc. export GROFF_NO_SGR=1Most7. Yelp or GNOME HelpConsidering you are using a distribution powered by GNOME desktop, you just need to search for the GNOME Help app from the menu. You can also access the same via the terminal using the command yelp. Using GNOME Help (Yelp) to view man pages Press CTRL to open the search bar and type the command that you want when using the terminal interface. man:<command> # For example man:manOr, if you are in a browser, go to the address bar (CTRL+L). Here, enter man:man. When asked to open the link in help, click on it. Opening man page from a browser GNOME Help (Yelp)Bonus: Use a terminal with built-in AIAI is everywhere, even in your terminal. The proximity of AI in the tool lets you quickly use them. There are a few terminals that come with built-in AI agents to help you get all sorts of help; from simple command suggestion to full-fledged deployment plans. You may use them too if you are an AI aficionado. Warp is one such terminal which is not open source but hugely popular among modern Linux users. Get Warp (Partner link)Wrapping UpWhile you have It's FOSS along with the traditional man pages to learn what most commands do on Linux, there are alternatives to man pages which could enhance your learning experience. If you prefer a GUI, GNOME Help should be helpful or any similar equivalent pre-installed on your distribution. For terminal-based solutions, there are a couple you can try. Take a look at the feature set they offer, and install what you like the most. What do you prefer the most? Let me know in the comments below!

by: Chris Coyier Mon, 26 May 2025 15:54:28 +0000 This is a great story from Dan North about “The Worst Programmer I know”, Tim MacKinnon. It’s a story about measuring developer performance with metrics: Scared? Maybe you can guess. Tim was very bad at metrics. Why? Maybe you can guess again. Tim wasn’t playing that game, he was a true senior developer in the sense that he nurtured his team. Every organization is different though. Mercifully in the situation above, Dan protected Tim. But we can all imagine a situation where Tim was fired because of this silly measurement system. (That always reminds me of Cathy O’Neils Weapons of Math Destruction). Getting to know how the organization works, so you can work within it, is another approach that Cindy Sridharan advocates for. See: How to become a more effective engineer. Different organizations will have different paths to these answers. I’ll pluck off a few bullet points: Figure out who matters, what they care about, and how to effectively get things done. And don’t wait! Another one I like in this realm of being a truly effective developer is Artem Zakirullin’s Cognitive load is what matters. A good developer can write code that themselves and others can read without being so complex that, well, you run out of mental capacity. That tracks for me. I start tracing how code works, and I’m all good and have it in my head, then it feels like right at the fifth logical jump, my brain just dumps it all out and I’m lost. I suspect it’s a talent of really great programmers that they can hold a bit more in their head, but it’s not smart to assume that of your fellow developers. And remember that even the very smart appreciate things that are very simple and clear, perhaps especially. You know what strikes me as a smart developer move? When they work together even across organizations. It’s impressive to me to see Standard Schema an effort by all the people who work on any library that deals with JavaScript/TypeScript schemas to make them easier to use and implement. There are heaps of libraries and tools that already support it, so I’d call that a big success. I see Zod released Mini recently, which uses functions instead of methods, making it tree-shakable, but otherwise works exactly the same. Likely a nod to Validbot which was always the “Zod but smaller” choice. Another thing I think is smart: seeing what developers are already doing and making that thing better. Like, I’m sure there are very fancy exotic ways to debug JavaScript in powerful ways. But we all know most of us just console.log() stuff. So I like how Microsoft is like, let’s just make that better with console.context(). This allows for better filtering and styling of messages and such, which would surely be welcome. Might as well steal formatting strings from Node as well.

by: Abhishek Kumar Mon, 26 May 2025 14:31:56 +0530 I see a lot of posts on my Twitter (or X) feed debating the merits of ditching cloud services in favor of homelab self-hosted setups just like I tried hosting Wikipedia and the Arch wiki. Some even suggest using bare-metal servers for professional environments. Source: Fireship on XWhile these posts often offer intriguing tools and perspectives, I can't help but notice a pattern: companies lean heavily on cloud services until something goes catastrophically wrong, like Google Cloud accidentally deleting customer data. Source: Ars TechnicaHowever, let’s be real, human error can occur anywhere. Whether in the cloud or on-premises, mistakes are universal. So, no, I’m not here to tell you to migrate your production services to a makeshift homelab server and become the next Antoine from Silicon Valley. But if you’re wondering why people even homelab in the era of AWS and Hetzner, I’m here to make the case: it’s fun, empowering, and yes, sometimes even practical. 1. Cost control over timeCloud services are undeniably convenient, but they often come with hidden costs. I still remember during my initial days here at It's FOSS, and Abhishek messaged me reminding me to delete any unused or improperly configured Linode instances. That’s the thing with cloud services, you pay for convenience, and if you’re not meticulous, it can snowball. Source: Mike Shoebox on XA homelab, on the other hand, is a one-time investment. You can repurpose an old PC or buy retired enterprise servers at a fraction of their original cost. Sure, there are ongoing power costs, but for many setups, especially with efficient hardware like Raspberry Pi clusters, this remains manageable. I'll take this opportunity to share my favorite AWS meme. 2. Learning and experimentationIf you’re in tech, be it as a sysadmin, developer, or DevOps engineer, having a homelab is like owning a personal playground. Want to deploy Kubernetes? Experiment with LXC containers? Test Ansible playbooks? You can break things, fix them, and learn along the way without worrying about production outages or cloud charges. For me, nothing beats the thrill of running Proxmox on an old Laptop with a Core i5, 8 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB hard drive. It’s modest (you might've seen that poor machine in several of my articles), but I’ve used it to spin up VMs, host Docker containers, and even test self-hosted alternatives to popular SaaS tools. 3. Privacy and ownershipWhen your data resides in the cloud, you trust the provider with its security and availability. But breaches happen, and privacy-conscious individuals might balk at the idea of sensitive information being out of their direct control. With a homelab, you own your data. Want a cloud backup? Use tools like Nextcloud. Need to share documents easily? Host your own FileBrowser. This setup isn’t just practical, it’s liberating. Sure, there’s a learning curve and it could be steep for many. Thankfully, we also have plug-and-play solutions like CasaOS, which we covered in a previous article. All you need to do is head to the app store, select 'install,' and everything will be taken care of for you. 4. Practical home usesHomelabs aren’t just for tech experiments. They can serve real-world purposes, often replacing expensive commercial solutions: Media servers: Host your own movie library with Jellyfin or Plex. No subscription fees, no geo-restrictions, and no third-party tracking, as long as you have the media on your computer.Home security: Set up a CCTV network with open-source tools like ZoneMinder. Add AI-powered object detection, and you’ve built a system that rivals professional offerings at a fraction of the cost.Family productivity: Create centralized backups with Nextcloud or run remote desktop environments for family members. You become the go-to tech person for your household, but in a rewarding way.For my parents, I host an Immich instance for photo management and a Jellyfin instance for media streaming on an old family desktop. Since the server is already running, I also use it as my offsite backup solution, just to be safe. 😅 📋If you are into self-hosting, always make multiple instances of data backup in different locations/systems/medium. Follow the golden rule of 3-2-1 backup.9 Dashboard Tools to Manage Your Homelab EffectivelySee which server is running what services with the help of a dashboard tool for your homelab.It's FOSSAbhishek KumarWhat about renting a VPS for cloud computing?I completely understand that renting a VPS can be a great choice for many. It offers flexibility, ease of use, and eliminates the need to manage physical hardware. These days, most VPS providers like AWS, Oracle, and others offer a 1-year free tier to attract users and encourage them to explore their platforms. This is a fantastic opportunity for beginners or those testing the waters with cloud hosting. I’ve also heard great things about Hetzner, especially their competitive pricing, which makes them an excellent option for those on a budget. In fact, I use Nanode myself to experiment with a DNS server. This setup spares me the hassle of port forwarding, especially since I’m behind CGNAT. If you’re interested in hosting your own projects or services but face similar limitations, I’ve covered a guide on Cloudflare Tunnels that you can consult, it’s a handy workaround for these challenges. Personally, I believe gatekeeping is one of the worst things in the tech community. No one should dictate how or where you host your projects. Mix and match! Host some services on your own systems, build something from scratch, or rent a VPS for convenience. Just be mindful of what you’re hosting like ensuring no misconfigured recursive function is running loose and keep exploring what suits your needs best. My journey into homelabMy journey into homelabbing and self-hosting started out of necessity. When I was in university, I didn’t have the budget for monthly cloud server subscriptions, domain hosting, or cloud storage. That limitation pushed me to learn how to piece things together: finding free tools, configuring them to fit my needs, diving into forum discussions, helping others solve specific issues, and eagerly waiting for new releases and features. This constant tinkering became an endless cycle of learning, often without even realizing it. And that’s the beauty of it. Whether you’re self-hosting on a VPS or your homelab, every step is a chance to explore, experiment, and grow. So, don’t feel constrained by one approach. The freedom to create, adapt, and learn is what makes this space so exciting. Wrapping upAt the end of the day, whether you choose to build a homelab, rent a VPS, or even dabble in both, it’s all about finding what works best for you. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here. For me, homelabbing started as a necessity during my university days, but over time, it became a passion, a way to learn, experiment, and create without boundaries. Sure, there are challenges, misconfigured services, late nights debugging, and the occasional frustration, but those moments are where the real learning happens. Renting a VPS has its perks too. It’s quick, convenient, and often more practical for certain projects. I’ve come to appreciate the balance of using both approaches, hosting some things locally for the sheer fun of it and using VPS providers when it makes sense. It’s not about choosing sides; it’s about exploring the possibilities and staying curious. If you’re someone who enjoys tinkering, building, and learning by doing, I’d encourage you to give homelabbing a try. Start small, experiment, and let your curiosity guide you. And if you prefer the convenience of a VPS or a mix of both, that’s perfectly fine too. At the end of the day, it’s your journey, your projects, and your learning experience. So, go ahead, spin up that server, configure that service, or build something entirely new. The world of self-hosting is vast, and the possibilities are endless. Happy tinkering!

by: Sreenath Mon, 26 May 2025 00:50:21 GMT Obsidian has emerged as a powerful and flexible knowledge management tool, despite NOT being an open source product. Using plugins is just one of the many tips that you can follow to get the most out of Obsidian. However, there is a small catch when it comes to compatibility. If you have used several Obsidian-specific plugins, then your notes may not be fully compatible in other plain markdown editors. In this article, we will take a look at Plugins in Obsidian, how you can install it, and also some essential plugins that can make your learning more effective. But first, a quick heads-up: Obsidian offers two types of plugins: Core Plugins: These are officially developed and maintained by the Obsidian team. While limited in number, they are stable and deeply integrated.Community Plugins: Created by users in the Obsidian community, these plugins offer a wide variety of features, although they aren’t officially supported by the core team.🚧Note that some plugins may make your Markdown notes fully readable only in Obsidian. This can be a vendor lock in. Use plugins only according to your needs.Using the core pluginsCore plugins are officially built by Obsidian. They will come pre-installed. So, naturally, that is the recommended method of installation when it comes to plugins. Core plugins are displayed in Obsidian settings page. Click on the settings gear icon at the bottom of the Obsidian app window to go to the settings. Click on the Settings gearIn the settings, select Core Plugins to view the Core plugins. Select Core PluginsMost of the core plugins are enabled when you install the Obsidian app. But some plugins will be disabled by default. I have included a brief description under each plugin to know what the plugin does and enable/disable as needed. Suggested Read 📖 13 Useful Tips on Organizing Notes Better With ObsidianUtilize Obsidian knowledge tool more effectively with these helpful tips and tweaks.It's FOSSSreenathUsing the community pluginsI’ve found that community plugins are one of the best ways to boost Obsidian’s capabilities. There’s a massive collection to choose from, and at the time of writing this, there are 2,430 community plugins available for installation. These plugins are built by third-party developers and go through an initial review process before being listed. However, since they have the same level of access as Obsidian itself, it’s important to be cautious. If privacy and security are essential for your work, I suggest doing a bit of homework before installing any plugin, just to be safe. Disable the restricted modeTo protect you from unofficial plugins, Obsidian starts with a restricted mode, where the community plugins are disabled. To install community plugins, you need to disable the restricted mode first, just like the auto blocker in some Android phones to block app installations from unauthorized sources. Go to the Obsidian settings and select the Community Plugins option. Here, click on the "Turn on community plugins" button. Turn on community pluginsThis will disable the restricted mode. And, you are all set! 😄 Install community pluginsOnce the restricted mode is disabled, you can browse for community plugins and get them installed. Click on the Browse buttonUse the Browse button to go to the plugins page, as shown in the screenshot above. You will reach the plugins store, that lists 2000+ plugins. Do not worry about the numbers, just search for what you need, or browse through some suggested options, just like I did. Plugins StoreWhen you have spotted a plugin that matches your need, click on it. Now, to install that plugin, use the Install button. Click on the Install buttonOnce installed, you can see two additional buttons called Enable and Uninstall. As the name suggests, they are for enabling a plugin or uninstalling a plugin. Enable/Uninstall a pluginThis can be done more efficiently from the Obsidian settings. For this, go to the Settings → Community plugins → Installed plugins. Here, use the toggle button to enable a plugin. Enable Plugins in SettingsThis section lists all the installed community plugins. You can enable/disable, uninstall, access plugin settings, assign a keybinding, or donate to that particular plugin. Manually install plugins🚧I do not recommend this method, since most of the plugins are available in Obsidian store and have gone through an initial review.Even though not recommended, if you want to install a plugin, manually, for version compatibility or other personal reasons, make sure to source it from the official repositories or websites. If it is on GitHub, go to the release page of the plugin GitHub repository and download main.js, manifest.json, and style.css files. Download Plugin filesNow, create a directory with the name of the project in the <Your-obsidian-vault>/.obsidian/plugins directory. Press CTRL+H to view hidden files. Paste plugin contentsIn my case, I tried Templater. Next, I transfer the downloaded files to this project directory. Now, open Obsidian and go to the Settings → Community plugins and enable the new plugin. Enable manually installed pluginInstall beta version of pluginsThis is not for regular users, but for those who want to be testers and reviewers of beta plugins. I usually do this to test interesting things or help with the development of plugins I believe in. We are using the BRAT (Beta Reviewers Auto-Update Tool) to install and update beta versions of Obsidian plugins. First, install the BRAT plugin from the Obsidian plugins store and enable it. Install BRAT PluginNow, go to the GitHub repository of the plugin you want to install the beta version of. Copy the URL of the repository. Select the BRAT plugin from Settings → Community plugins and click on the “Add beta plugin” button. Click on the "Add beta plugin" buttonHere, add the GitHub URL, select a version from the list, and click on the Add Plugin button. Add URL and select versionYou can see that the plugin has been added with BRAT. Since we selected a specific version, it is shown as frozen and cannot be updated. Select Latest as version to get updates. Beta plugin added using BRATUpdate pluginsTo update community plugins, go to Obsidian settings and select Community plugins. Here, click on the Check for updates button. If there is an update available, it will notify you. There is an update available for one plugin.Click on Update All to update all the plugins that have an update available. Or, scroll down and update individual plugins by clicking on the Update button. Move community pluginsYou can copy selected or all plugins from your directory to another vault to avoid installing everything from scratch. Go to the <your-obsidian-vault>/.obsidian/plugins directory. Now, copy directories of those plugins you want to use in another vault. Copy those directories to your new plugin directory for your other vault (or the newer vault) <your-new-vault>/.obsidian/plugins directory. If there is no plugins directory in the new vault, create one. Once you open the new vault, you will be asked to trust the plugins. If it is you, who copied all the folders and no others are involved, click on the "Trust author and enable plugins" button. Or you can use the "Browse Vault in restricted mode" and then enable the plugins by going to Settings → Community plugins → Turn on Community plugins → Enable plugins. Plugin security notificationIn both cases, you don't have to install the plugin from scratch. Don't forget to enable the plugins through Settings → Community plugins to start using them. Remove a pluginRemoving a plugin is easy. Go to the community plugins in settings and click on the delete button (bin icon) adjacent to the plugin you want to remove. Remove a pluginOr, if you just want to disable all community plugins, you can turn on the restricted mode. Click on the Turn on and reload button in community plugins settings. Turn on restricted modeSo, if you turn off the restricted mode, all the installed plugins will be enabled. Pretty easy, I know, right? Another way to remove plugins is to delete specific folders in the plugins directory, but it is unnecessary unless you are testing something specific. 🚧Don't use this method for everything since it is safer to do so from within Obsidian.Go to the <your-obsiidian-vault>/.obsidian/plugins directory and remove the directory that has the name of the plugin you want to remove. Now open Obsidian and you won't see that plugin. Voila! Enjoy using ObsidianI have shared many more Obsidian tips to improve your experience with this wonderful too. 13 Useful Tips on Organizing Notes Better With ObsidianUtilize Obsidian knowledge tool more effectively with these helpful tips and tweaks.It's FOSSSreenathPlugin is just part of how you can go beyond the obvious and default Obsidian offering. I hope you found this tutorial helpful. Enjoy.

by: Abhishek Prakash Fri, 23 May 2025 18:40:52 +0530 Linux doesn't get easier. You just get better at it. This is what I always suggest to beginners. The best way to learn Linux (or any new skill for that matter) is to start using it. The more you use it, the better you get at it 💪 Here are the highlights of this edition : Master splitting windows in VimEssential YAML conceptsCheckcleAnd more tools, tips and memes for youThis edition of LHB Linux Digest newsletter is supported by PikaPods.🚀 Self-hosting on autopilotPikaPods allows you to quickly deploy your favorite open source software. All future updates and backups are handled automatically by PikaPods while you enjoy using the software. Wondering if you should rely on it? You get $5 free credit, so try it out and test it yourself. PikaPods - Instant Open Source App HostingRun the finest Open Source web apps from $1.20/month, fully managed, no tracking, no ads, full privacy. Self-hosting was never this convenient.Instant Open Source App Hosting       This post is for subscribers only Subscribe now Already have an account? Sign in

by: Temani Afif Fri, 23 May 2025 13:02:32 +0000 Creating CSS Shapes is a classic and one of my favorite exercise. Indeed, I have one of the biggest collections of CSS Shapes from where you can easily copy the code of any shape. I also wrote an extensive guide on how to create them: The Modern Guide For Making CSS Shapes. Even if I have detailed most of the modern techniques and tricks, CSS keeps evolving, and new stuff always emerges to simplify our developer life. Recently, clip-path was upgraded to have a new shape() value. A real game changer! Before we jump in, it’s worth calling out that the shape() function is currently only supported in Chrome 137+ and Safari 18.4+ as I’m writing this in May 2025. What is shape()? Let me quote the description from the official specification: In other words, we have the SVG features in the CSS side that we can combine with existing features such as var(), calc(), different units, etc. SVG is already good at drawing complex shapes, so imagine what is possible with something more powerful. If you keep reading the spec, you will find: And guess what? I already created an online converter from SVG to CSS. Save this tool because it will be very handy. If you are already good at creating SVG shapes or you have existing codes, no need to reinvent the wheel. You paste your code in the generator, and you get the CSS code that you can easily tweak later. Let’s try with the CSS-Tricks logo. Here is the SVG I picked from the website: <svg width="35px" height="35px" viewBox="0 0 362.62 388.52" > <path d="M156.58,239l-88.3,64.75c-10.59,7.06-18.84,11.77-29.43,11.77-21.19,0-38.85-18.84-38.85-40C0,257.83,14.13,244.88,27.08,239l103.6-44.74L27.08,148.34C13,142.46,0,129.51,0,111.85,0,90.66,18.84,73,40,73c10.6,0,17.66,3.53,28.25,11.77l88.3,64.75L144.81,44.74C141.28,20,157.76,0,181.31,0s40,18.84,36.5,43.56L206,149.52l88.3-64.75C304.93,76.53,313.17,73,323.77,73a39.2,39.2,0,0,1,38.85,38.85c0,18.84-12.95,30.61-27.08,36.5L231.93,194.26,335.54,239c14.13,5.88,27.08,18.83,27.08,37.67,0,21.19-18.84,38.85-40,38.85-9.42,0-17.66-4.71-28.26-11.77L206,239l11.77,104.78c3.53,24.72-12.95,44.74-36.5,44.74s-40-18.84-36.5-43.56Z"></path> </svg> You take the value inside the d attribute, paste it in the converter, and boom! You have the following CSS: .shape { aspect-ratio: 0.933; clip-path: shape(from 43.18% 61.52%,line by -24.35% 16.67%,curve by -8.12% 3.03% with -2.92% 1.82%/-5.2% 3.03%,curve by -10.71% -10.3% with -5.84% 0%/-10.71% -4.85%,curve to 7.47% 61.52% with 0% 66.36%/3.9% 63.03%,line by 28.57% -11.52%,line to 7.47% 38.18%,curve to 0% 28.79% with 3.59% 36.67%/0% 33.33%,curve to 11.03% 18.79% with 0% 23.33%/5.2% 18.79%,curve by 7.79% 3.03% with 2.92% 0%/4.87% 0.91%,line by 24.35% 16.67%,line to 39.93% 11.52%,curve to 50% 0% with 38.96% 5.15%/43.51% 0%,smooth by 10.07% 11.21% with 11.03% 4.85%,line to 56.81% 38.48%,line by 24.35% -16.67%,curve to 89.29% 18.79% with 84.09% 19.7%/86.36% 18.79%,arc by 10.71% 10% of 10.81% 10.09% small cw,curve by -7.47% 9.39% with 0% 4.85%/-3.57% 7.88%,line to 63.96% 50%,line to 92.53% 61.52%,curve by 7.47% 9.7% with 3.9% 1.51%/7.47% 4.85%,curve by -11.03% 10% with 0% 5.45%/-5.2% 10%,curve by -7.79% -3.03% with -2.6% 0%/-4.87% -1.21%,line to 56.81% 61.52%,line by 3.25% 26.97%,curve by -10.07% 11.52% with 0.97% 6.36%/-3.57% 11.52%,smooth by -10.07% -11.21% with -11.03% -4.85%,close); } Note that you don’t need to provide any viewBox data. The converter will automatically find the smallest rectangle for the shape and will calculate the coordinates of the points accordingly. No more viewBox headaches and no need to fight with overflow or extra spacing! CodePen Embed Fallback Here is another example where I am applying the shape to an image element. I am keeping the original SVG so you can compare both shapes. CodePen Embed Fallback When to use shape() I would be tempted to say “all the time” but in reality, not. In my guide, I distinguish between two types of shapes: The ones with only straight lines and the ones with curves. Each type can either have repetition or not. In the end, we have four categories of shapes. If we don’t have curves and we don’t have repetition (the easiest case), then clip-path: polygon() should do the job. If we have a repetition (with or without curves), then mask is the way to go. With mask, we can rely on gradients that can have a specific size and repeat, but with clip-path we don’t have such options. If you have curves and don’t have a repetition, the new shape() is the best option. Previously, we had to rely on mask since clip-path is very limited, but that’s no longer the case. Of course, these are not universal rules, but my own way to identify which option is the most suitable. At the end of the day, it’s always a case-by-case basis as we may have other things to consider, such as the complexity of the code, the flexibility of the method, browser support, etc. Let’s draw some shapes! Enough talking, let’s move to the interesting part: drawing shapes. I will not write a tutorial to explain the “complex” syntax of shape(). It will be boring and not interesting. Instead, we will draw some common shapes and learn by practice! Rectangle Take the following polygon: clip-path: polygon( 0 0, 100% 0, 100% 100%, 0 100% ); Technically, this will do nothing since it will draw a rectangle that already follows the element shape which is a rectangle, but it’s still the perfect starting point for us. Now, let’s write it using shape(). clip-path: shape( from 0 0, line to 100% 0, line to 100% 100%, line to 0 100% ); The code should be self-explanatory and we already have two commands. The from command is always the first command and is used only once. It simply specifies the starting point. Then we have the line command that draws a line to the next point. Nothing complex so far. We can still write it differently like below: clip-path: shape( from 0 0, hline to 100%, vline to 100%, hline to 0 ); Between the points 0 0 and 100% 0, only the first value is changing which means we are drawing a horizontal line from 0 0 to 100% 0, hence the use of hline to 100% where you only need to specify the horizontal offset. It’s the same logic using vline where we draw a vertical line between 100% 0 and 100% 100%. I won’t advise you to draw your shape using hline and vline because they can be tricky and are a bit difficult to read. Always start by using line and then if you want to optimize your code you can replace them with hline or vline when applicable. We have our first shape and we know the commands to draw straight lines: CodePen Embed Fallback Circular Cut-Out Now, let’s try to add a circular cut-out at the top of our shape: For this, we are going to rely on the arc command, so let’s understand how it works. If we have two points, A and B, there are exactly two circles with a given radius that intersect with both points like shown in the figure. The intersection gives us four possible arcs we can draw between points A and B. Each arc is defined by a size and a direction. There is also the particular case where the radius is equal to half the distance between A and B. In this case, only two arcs can be drawn and the direction will decide which one. The syntax will look like this: clip-path: shape( from Xa Ya, arc to Xb Yb of R [large or small] [cw or ccw] ); Let’s add this to our previous shape. No need to think about the values. Instead, let’s use random ones and see what happens: clip-path: shape( from 0 0, arc to 40% 0 of 50px, line to 100% 0, line to 100% 100%, line to 0 100% ); CodePen Embed Fallback Not bad, we can already see the arc between 0 0 and 40% 0. Notice how I didn’t define the size and direction of the arc. By default, the browser will use small and ccw. Let’s explicitly define the size and direction to see the four different cases: CodePen Embed Fallback Hmm, it’s working for the first two blocks but not the other ones. Quite strange, right? Actually, everything is working fine. The arcs are drawn outside the element area so nothing is visible. If you add some box-shadow, you can see them: CodePen Embed Fallback Arcs can be tricky due to the size and direction thing, so get ready to be confused. If that happens, remember that you have four different cases, and trying all of them will help you find which one you need. Now let’s try to be accurate and draw half a circle with a specific radius placed at the center: We can define the radius as a variable and use what we have learned so far: .shape { --r: 50px; clip-path: shape( from 0 0, line to calc(50% - var(--r)) 0, arc to calc(50% + var(--r)) 0 of var(--r), line to 100% 0, line to 100% 100%, line to 0 100% ); } CodePen Embed Fallback It’s working fine, but the code can still be optimized. We can replace all the line commands with hline and vline like below: .shape { --r: 50px; clip-path: shape(from 0 0, hline to calc(50% - var(--r)), arc to calc(50% + var(--r)) 0 of var(--r), hline to 100%, vline to 100%, hline to 0 ); } We can also replace the radius with 1%: .shape { --r: 50px; clip-path: shape(from 0 0, hline to calc(50% - var(--r)), arc to calc(50% + var(--r)) 0 of 1%, hline to 100%, vline to 100%, hline to 0 ); } When you define a small radius (smaller than half the distance between both points), no circle can meet the condition we explained earlier (an intersection with both points), so we cannot draw an arc. This case falls within an error handling where the browser will scale the radius until we can have a circle that meets the condition. Instead of considering this case as invalid, the browser will fix “our mistake” and draw an arc. This error handling is pretty cool as it allows us to simplify our shape() function. Instead of specifying the exact radius, I simply put a small value and the browser will do the job for me. This trick only works when the arc we want to draw is half a circle. Don’t try to apply it with any arc command because it won’t always work. Another optimization is to update the following: arc to calc(50% + var(--r)) 0 of 1%, …with this: arc by calc(2 * var(--r)) 0 of 1%, Almost all the commands can either use a to directive or a by directive. The first one defines absolute coordinates like the one we use with polygon(). It’s the exact position of the point we are moving to. The second defines relative coordinates which means we need to consider the previous point to identify the coordinates of the next point. In our case, we are telling the arc to consider the previous point (50% - R) 0 and move by 2*R 0, so the final point will be (50% - R + 2R) (0 + 0), which is the same as (50% + R) 0. .shape { --r: 50px; clip-path: shape(from 0 0, hline to calc(50% - var(--r)), arc by calc(2 * var(--r)) 0 of 1px, hline to 100%, vline to 100%, hline to 0 ); } This last optimization is great because if we want to move the cutout from the center, we only need to update one value: the 50%. .shape { --r: 50px; --p: 40%; clip-path: shape( from 0 0, hline to calc(var(--p) - var(--r)), arc by calc(2 * var(--r)) 0 of 1px, hline to 100%, vline to 100%, hline to 0 ); } CodePen Embed Fallback How would you adjust the above to have the cut-out at the bottom, left, or right? That’s your first homework assignment! Try to do it before moving to the next part. I will give my implementation so that you can compare with yours, but don’t cheat! If you can do this without referring to my work, you will be able to do more complex shapes more easily. CodePen Embed Fallback Rounded Tab Enough cut-out, let’s try to create a rounded tab: Can you see the puzzle of this one? Similar to the previous shape, it’s a bunch of arc and line commands. Here is the code: .shape { --r: 26px; clip-path: shape( /* left part */ from 0 100%, arc by var(--r) calc(-1 * var(--r)) of var(--r), vline to var(--r), arc by var(--r) calc(-1 * var(--r)) of var(--r) cw, /* right part */ hline to calc(100% - 2 * var(--r)), arc by var(--r) var(--r) of var(--r) cw, vline to calc(100% - var(--r)), arc by var(--r) var(--r) of var(--r) ); } It looks a bit scary, but if you follow it command by command, it becomes a lot clearer to see what’s happening. Here is a figure to help you visualize the left part of it. All the arc commands are using the by directive because, in all the cases, I always need to move by an offset equal to R, meaning I don’t have to calculate the coordinates of the points. And don’t try to replace the radius by 1% because it won’t work since we are drawing a quarter of a circle rather than half of a circle. CodePen Embed Fallback From this, we can easily achieve the left and right variations: CodePen Embed Fallback Notice how I am only using two arc commands instead of three. One rounded corner can be done with a classic border radius, so this can help us simplify the shape. Inverted Radius One last shape, the classic inner curve at the corner also called an inverted radius. How many arc commands do we need for this one? Check the figure below and think about it. If your answer is six, you have chosen the difficult way to do it. It’s logical to think about six arcs since we have six curves, but three of them can be done with a simple border radius, so only three arcs are needed. Always take the time to analyze the shape you are creating. Sometimes, basic CSS properties can help with creating the shape. What are you waiting for? This is your next homework and I won’t help you with a figure this time. You have all that you need to easily create it. If you are struggling, give the article another read and try to study the previous shapes more in depth. Here is my implementation of the four variations: CodePen Embed Fallback Conclusion That’s all for this first part. You should have a good overview of the shape() function. We focused on the line and arc commands which are enough to create most of the common shapes. Don’t forget to bookmark the SVG to CSS converter and keep an eye on my CSS Shape collection where you can find the code of all the shapes I create. And here is a last shape to end this article. CodePen Embed Fallback Better CSS Shapes Using shape() — Part 1: Lines and Arcs originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.

by: Geoff Graham Thu, 22 May 2025 14:43:09 +0000 Clever, clever that Andy Bell. He shares a technique for displaying image alt text when the image fails to load. Well, more precisely, it’s a technique to apply styles to the alt when the image doesn’t load, offering a nice UI fallback for what would otherwise be a busted-looking error. The recipe? First, make sure you’re using alt in the HTML. Then, a little JavaScript snippet that detects when an image fails to load: const images = document.querySelectorAll("img"); if (images) { images.forEach((image) => { image.onerror = () => { image.setAttribute("data-img-loading-error", ""); }; }); } That slaps an attribute on the image — data-img-loading-error — that is selected in CSS: img[data-img-loading-error] { --img-border-style: 0.25em solid color-mix(in srgb, currentColor, transparent 75%); --img-border-space: 1em; border-inline-start: var(--img-border-style); border-block-end: var(--img-border-style); padding-inline-start: var(--img-border-space); padding-block: var(--img-border-space); max-width: 42ch; margin-inline: auto; } And what you get is a lovely little presentation of the alt that looks a bit like a blockquote and is is only displayed when needed. CodePen Embed Fallback Andy does note, however, that Safari does not render alt text if it goes beyond a single line, which 🤷‍♂️. You can style alt text like any other text originally published on CSS-Tricks, which is part of the DigitalOcean family. You should get the newsletter.