From Java and ActiveX to Flash, Houdini, and Direct3D, these 1996 releases shaped how we build apps, sites, and games today.

Java 26, due in March with structured concurrency, lazy constants, AOT object caching, and primitive types in patterns, instanceof, and switch, has entered a second rampdown phase for bug fixes.

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Software engineering is the branch of computer science that deals with the design, development, testing, and maintenance of software applications. Software engineers apply engineering principles and ...