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Featured Articles

C is a block-structured language and, mostly, memory allocation is automatic - so why do we need the heap? Find out why in this extract from my book, Deep C Dives .

Introducing Melvin and Bugsy, characters who figure in a series of challlenges from Joe Celko. Sharpen your coding skills with puzzles that will both amuse and torment you.

Programming News and Views

Google is extending its control over Android in yet another way that is difficult to criticise without sounding as if you don't care about security. Now we have a mandatory wait of 24 hours before a user can side-load your program.

A project that will let Java developers use Python or JavaScript as extensions to Java is being reinvigorated by Oracle having been proposed as an official OpenJDK project.

We take a comprehensive look at Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) for PostgreSQL, specifically focusing on the pg_tde extension developed by Percona.

Avalonia has released an initial preview of an Avalonia backend for .NET MAUI. The framework uses .NET 11 (itself in preview), and will mean developers will be able to deploy .NET MAUI apps to Linux and WebAssembly.

Text/Terminal User Interfaces (TUIs) are not only still relevant, but the terminal is currently experiencing a "renaissance". TUI frameworks make way for a new player in town - TamboUI - modern and Java-based.

Apache has released the latest version of the NetBeans cross-platform IDE. Version 29 improvements include better Java performance and updated Git integration.

Charles H. Bennett and Gilles Brassard are the recipients of the 2025 ACM Turing Award in recognition of their role in establishing the foundations of quantum information science, thereby transforming secure communication and computing.

Mozilla has added a new global mascot to the Firefox web browser. Kit is a "flame-bright fox" with a "protective streak," and Mozilla intends Kit to make Firefox more friendly and to provide a helpful companion for users to help them stay safe while browsing.

Training humanoid robots to do things seems to be the way to go compared to the "traditional" engineering approach. We can't tell a robot how to play tennis but we can let it learn by trial and error.

Alibaba has introduced Zvec, an open-source vector database designed to function as a lightweight library for on-device Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).

Wing Python IDE version 11.1 has been released with improved pseudo TTY emulation in OS Commands, Start Terminal on Windows, syntax highlighting for Rust and TOML,and support for newer OpenAI models in AI Chat.

Book Watch

This guide to Tcl covers new Tcl features, expanded Tcl-OO coverage, web technology using Rivet and SQLite, and AI integration with AWS. Clif Flynt also delves into Tcl's standard tools, multi-faceted nature, and extensibility, making it ideal for developing GUIs, client/server middleware, and web applications.

In this book, subtitled "Not another boring Python book, learn programming the fun way", Maaike and Imke van Putten provide an illustrated, fun, and hands-on guide that treats learning Python like the adventure it should be. It’s designed especially for beginners who want to understand how code works without getting overwhelmed. Readers are guided by a cheeky, know-it-all cat who is surprisingly good at teaching Python from scratch. A slightly moody dachshund dog is your study buddy, learning right alongside you. Each chapter introduces a core programming concept, explains it with a playful twist, and reinforces it through human-friendly examples, analogies, and exercises.

The premise of this book is that to keep doing what you love, you need to maintain your own systems, not just the ones you write code for. Joe Kutner's view is that regular exercise and proper nutrition help you learn, remember, concentrate, and be creative; skills critical to doing your job well. In this book you'll see how to change your work habits, master exercises that make working at a computer more comfortable, and develop a plan to keep fit, healthy, and sharp for years to come.

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