Programming: LLVM, Rust, Python and More

• LLVM Adds MLIR-Vulkan-Runner To Run MLIR On Vulkan-Enabled GPUs

  For those out of the loop, MLIR is a new intermediate representation (IR) in the LLVM ecosystem that has grown immensely in popularity since Google developers announced it last year. MLIR was designed as a machine learning IR for the likes of TensorFlow and has seen significant adoption by the LLVM ecosystem in working out well for heterogeneous hardware among other advantages over the traditional LLVM IR. The mlir-vulkan-runner added to the LLVM source tree today is an execution driver for executing MLIR files on Vulkan by translating MLIR modules into SPIR-V for execution on GPUs while the host portion is converted to LLVM IR and JIT'ed on the system. This is similar to the MLIR CUDA runner that has already existed for NVIDIA platforms.

• LLVM Clang 11 Adds -std=c++20 Support

  With C++20 now being deemed complete from the recent ISO C++ meeting in Prague, the GNU Compiler Collection went ahead and added the -std=c++20 flag where as up until that change this weekend relied upon the -std=c++2a switch. LLVM's Clang compiler now has similar treatment on its codebase. Like GCC, the LLVM Clang C++20 support isn't yet complete but it's working towards that milestone. But with C++20 now deemed complete and set to formally be out in the coming months during the 2020 year, the developers are comfortable exposing it now as -std=c++20 as the target. Additionally, LLVM Clang has shifted its C++2A references in their code-base to C++20. The old C++2A switch will still be an accepted argument for compatibility purposes.

• Daily life with the offline laptop

  I will go fast on this. My set up is an old Apple Powerbook G4 with a 1024x768 screen (I love that 4:3 ratio) running OpenBSD.

  The system firewall pf is configured to prevent any incoming connections, and only allow TCP on the network to port 22, because when I need to copy files, I use ssh / sftp. The /home partition is encrypted using the softraid crypto device, full disk encryption is not supported on powerpc.

  The experience is even more enjoyable with a warm cup of tea on hand.

• The Computer Scientist Responsible for Cut, Copy, and Paste, Has Passed Away

  Born in 1945 in New York, Tesler went on to study computer science at Stanford University, and after graduation he dabbled in artificial intelligence research (long before it became a deeply concerning tool) and became involved in the anti-war and anti-corporate monopoly movements, with companies like IBM as one of his deserving targets. In 1973 Tesler took a job at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) where he worked until 1980. Xerox PARC is famously known for developing the mouse-driven graphical user interface we now all take for granted, and during his time at the lab Tesler worked with Tim Mott to create a word processor called Gypsy that is best known for coining the terms “cut,” “copy,” and “paste” when it comes to commands for removing, duplicating, or repositioning chunks of text.

• This Week In Rust: This Week in Rust 326

• Using Python and GNU Octave to plot data

  Data science is a domain of knowledge that spans programming languages. Some are well-known for solving problems in this space, while others are lesser-known. This article will help you become familiar with doing data science with some popular languages.

• Python while Loop

  Loops are one of the fundamental concepts of programming languages. Loops are handy when you want to repeat a specific block of code a number of times until a given condition is met. There are two basic loop constructs in Python, for and while loops. This tutorial covers the basics of while loops in Python. We’ll also show you how to use the else clause and the break and continue statements.

• Stop Installing Python Packages Globally — Use Virtual Environments

  Python virtual environments allow you to install Python packages in an isolated location for a particular application, instead of installing them globally. Let’s explore what the advantages are and how you can quickly get started.

Proprietary Software Leftovers

• GOWIN Semiconductor Adds Ubuntu Support to their GOWIN EDA FPGA Software for Improved Artificial Intelligence and IoT Development Toolchain Integration

  Traditional FPGAs have had a long history of development tool support for Windows and Red Hat, but in many cases lacked universal Linux support for other distributions such as Ubuntu. This has caused development burdens as Ubuntu has matured and become the most commonly supported operating system for Artificial Intelligence solution development. Neural network model development software such as Caffe, Tensorflow and Keras have found Ubuntu as the preferred operating system due to its open source support and scripting capabilities. As a result, having GOWIN’s FPGA EDA in the same operating system allows developers to seamlessly integrate FPGA synthesis, place and route and bitstream generation into their AI design and script work flows.

• Kentucky official: Foreign actors, including Russians, North Koreans, target election system

  Previous attacks on election systems by foreign actors in the 2016 election focused on state-level systems, which have since beefed up security, though Dearing told legislators that "we’re now seeing those bad actors target the county level.”

• New Workload Automation Platform Available on Linux and Windows Servers

• War With Netflix and Disney Looms for India’s Top Local Streamer

  As global streaming giants Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co. spend millions of dollars to grab viewers in India, a country that could become their biggest overseas market, a homegrown rival is preparing to defend its turf.

  Zee5, the top domestic streaming platform set up by India’s biggest television broadcaster, is betting on local content to fend off big-spending rivals, Chief Executive Officer Tarun Katial said in an interview. The over-the-top, or OTT, service is playing to its advantage by adding more local-language shows and lower-price options to gain market share, he said.

• DHS’s cyber wing responds to ransomware attack on pipeline operator [iophk: Windows TCO]

  The Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity agency recently responded to a ransomware attack on a natural gas compression facility that led the organization to shut down its operations for two days, the agency said Tuesday.

  The [attackers] were able to encrypt data on the organization’s IT and “operational technology” network, a broad term for a network that oversees industrial processes. No longer able to read data coming from across its enterprise, the facility shut down its various assets, including its pipelines, for two days.

• Alert (AA20-049A): Ransomware Impacting Pipeline Operations [iophk: Windows TCO]

  CISA responded to a cyberattack affecting control and communication assets on the operational technology (OT) network of a natural gas compression facility. A cyber threat actor used a Spearphishing Link [T1192] to obtain initial access to the organization’s information technology (IT) network before pivoting to its OT network. The threat actor then deployed commodity ransomware to Encrypt Data for Impact [T1486] on both networks. Specific assets experiencing a Loss of Availability [T826] on the OT network included human machine interfaces (HMIs), data historians, and polling servers. Impacted assets were no longer able to read and aggregate real-time operational data reported from low-level OT devices, resulting in a partial Loss of View [T829] for human operators. The attack did not impact any programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and at no point did the victim lose control of operations. Although the victim’s emergency response plan did not specifically consider cyberattacks, the decision was made to implement a deliberate and controlled shutdown to operations. This lasted approximately two days, resulting in a Loss of Productivity and Revenue [T828], after which normal operations resumed. CISA is providing this Alert to help administrators and network defenders protect their organizations against this and similar ransomware attacks.

• Chinese-linked [cracking] group using Windows backdoors to go after gambling industry targets

  A nation-state actor that has links with Chinese [attackers] is exploiting two new backdoors to run a cyber-espionage campaign against gambling entities in Southeast Asia, according to Trend Micro research.

  The new activity, which is also reportedly occurring in Europe and the Middle East, was first unearthed last year when cybersecurity consultancy Talent-Jump Technologies found a Microsoft Windows backdoor and contacted Trend Micro while conducting incident response for a company based in the Philippines.

New ISOs for Slackware Live (liveslak 1.3.5)

I have uploaded a set of fresh Slackware Live Edition ISO images. They are based on the liveslak scripts version 1.3.5. The ISOs are variants of Slackware-current “Tue Feb 18 05:20:50 UTC 2020” with the 5.4.20 kernel but without PAM. The PLASMA5 variant is my february release of ‘ktown‘ aka KDE-5_20.02 . Download these ISO files preferably via rsync://slackware.nl/mirrors/slackware-live/ (or its mirror rsync://slackware.uk/people/alien-slacklive/ but allow that 24 to sync up) because that allows easy resume if you cannot download the file in one go.

LibreOffice 6.3.5 Released and LibreOffice 7 on the Way

• LibreOffice 6.3.5 available for download

  The Document Foundation announces LibreOffice 6.3.5, the 5th minor release of the LibreOffice 6.3 family, targeted at individuals using the software for production purposes, who are invited to update their current version. The new release provides bug and regression fixes, and improvements to document compatibility.

• LibreOffice 6.3.5 Is Now Available for Download with 84 Bug Fixes

  LibreOffice 6.3.5 comes more than two months after the LibreOffice 6.3.4 update and it’s here to improve the overall stability, security and compatibility of the open-source and cross-platform office suite. A total of 84 bug and regression fixes are included in this maintenance update, which is still recommended to power users and technology enthusiasts, improving LibreOffice’s core components. The full changelogs are available for tech-savvy users here and here.

• LibreOffice 7 Continues Plumbing Its Vulkan Rendering Support

  Landing last November in the LibreOffice development code was Skia drawing support to replace Cairo and in turn that opens up for Vulkan rendering of this cross-platform, open-source office suite. Skia+Vulkan is working out for LibreOffice and in fact the debut version that was going to be LibreOffice 6.5 was renamed to LibreOffice 7.0 as the current version now under development following the recent LibreOffice 6.4 release.