Coding | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Python has its pros and cons, but it's nonetheless used extensively. For example, Python is frequently used in data crunching tasks even when there are more appropriate languages to choose from. Why? Well, Python is relatively easy to learn. Someone with a science background can pick up Python much more quickly than, say, C. However, Python's inherent approachability also creates a couple of problems. Whenever Python is updated, it means a big refactoring workload, which often gets dealt with poorly – or not at all. That leads to poor performance and security vulnerabilities. But maybe there is a better way: a tool to keep your Python tasks running smoothly and securely day in, day out. Let's take a look. It's slow, but it does the job Python isn't the fastest language around, but despite its comparative disadvantages, you'll often see it used for intensive data crunching operations. Think machine learning, computer vision, or even pure math in high-perform...

Progress powers technology forward. But progress also has a cost: by adding new capabilities and features, the developer community is constantly adjusting the building blocks. That includes the fundamental languages used to code technology solutions. When the building blocks change, the code behind the technology solution must change too. It's a challenging and time-consuming exercise that drains resources. But what if there's an alternative? The problem: reading code someone else wrote Let's take a step back and take a look at one of the fundamental challenges in development: editing someone else's code. Editing code you just wrote, or wrote a couple of weeks ago, is just fine. But editing your own code written years ago – never mind someone else's code - that's a different story. In-house code style rules can help but there are always odd naming conventions for variables and functions, or unusual choices for algorithms. Arguably, a programmer's abilit...

Hacking is a core aspect of Facebook's culture. Whether we are developing the next big product at one of our hackathons or creating a smarter search algorithm, we constantly hack to find better solutions. We are launching the Hacker Cup to unite engineers worldwide in a multi-round programming competition. Participants must solve algorithmic problem statements to advance, being ranked by accuracy and speed. What: An annual algorithmic programming contest open to hackers globally. Where: Three online rounds with finals at Facebook's headquarters in California. When: Registration opens on December 20th. The three online rounds will occur throughout January 2011, followed by the world finals. Finals: We will cover the travel and accommodation expenses for the top 25 hackers from the 3rd online round to our campus. Prizes: The top hacker will win $5,000 and the title of world champion. The second place will receive $2,000, third place $1,000, and fourth to twenty-fifth place...