Why Python? What makes this the super language of the 21st century? This extract from Programmer's Python: Everything is an Object explains what makes Python pythonic. 

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The prototype mechanism is a minefield of problems waiting to trap the ambitious JavaScript programmer, especially so when combined with a serious object-oriented approach. We tackle the puzzle of the missing private variables.

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The TIOBE index for October is out and C has overtaken  to regain the coveted second place in the ranking. What is it about C that makes it so special and can it continue to be as important a language as we enter the era of AI-assisted coding?

Arduino has just been taken over by Qualcomm, a company generally known for its many patent disputes as well as its ARM processors. More importantly, a new Arduino has just been announced that could be a big competitor to Raspberry Pi.

Mozilla has announced that it is adding a new feature to the Firefox desktop browser  - visual search powered by Google Lens.

The MSSQL Extension for VS Code, Microsoft's open source code editor, has been updated and now has a schema designer, schema compare tool, and local SQL Server containers.

Anthropic has released Claude Sonnet 4.5, describing it as the best coding model in the world. Anthropic says this is the strongest model for building complex agents, the best model at using computers, and it shows substantial gains in reasoning and math.

Google's open source MCP server that allows AI agents to interact with SQL databases.

The BBC has reported on the advances made by scientists in Switzerland in the emerging field of Organoid Intelligence which uses human stem cells to build "mini-brains", aka organiods.

A child-sized robot has achieved lift-off and stable flight after nearly ten years of development. The developers say this is the first successful vertical takeoff of a jet-powered flying humanoid robot. iRonCub3 managed to get to a magnificent 50 centimeters off the ground for several seconds in tests.

With 10 days to go until Microsoft ends free support for Windows 10, Windows 7 has seen an uptick in its market share, while Windows 11 has seen a slight downturn. A new petition is asking Microsoft to extend free support for Windows 10 to avoid millions of serviceable PCs being sent to landfill.

Google has released a small, specialized, but powerful model that can run on low resource devices.

Kubernetes 1.34 has been released with improvements including distributed resource allocation support, and enhanced in-cluster traffic routing.

This book shows how to implement a series of best practices and design patterns to help create efficient and robust Node.js applications. Authors Mario Casciaro and Luciano Mammino kick off by exploring the basics of Node.js, analyzing its asynchronous event driven architecture and its fundamental design patterns. They then show how to build asynchronous control flow patterns with callbacks, promises and async/await.

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This book by Jens Gustedt, a member of the ISO C standards committee, gets readers up to speed with C23. The book is a fast-paced introduction to the C language, with special attention on its most modern features. It starts with a quick review of structure, grammar, and execution and then progresses quickly to control structures, data types, operators, and other core language features. Fully revised for C23, this expanded Third Edition covers compound expressions and lambdas, new insights into approaching program failure, and how to transition smoothly to C23.

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This book looks at how America designed and built the fastest chips and maintained its lead as the #1 superpower. Now, America's edge is slipping, undermined by competitors in Taiwan, Korea, Europe, and, above all, China. Today, as Chris Miller reveals, China, which spends more money each year importing chips than it spends importing oil, is pouring billions into a chip-building initiative to catch up to the US. At stake is America's military superiority and economic prosperity.

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