Python in VS Code gets even better

September’s been a busy time in the world of Python. This end-of-month roundup has Python rocking the top of the Tiobe charts like Java once did, Microsoft dropping an all-in-one data-science pack for Python and VS Code, and a solid guide to using the py launcher—your best friend for Python on Windows. And, if you’re scratching your head over whether to choose Go or Python, we have answers.

Top picks for Python readers on InfoWorld

Microsoft unveils Python Data Science Extension Pack for Visual Studio Code
Python language support, Jupyter notebooks, data wrangling, and GitHub Copilot—it’s everything you need, all in one package!

Python scores its highest rating in Tiobe index
At 18%, Python now ranks where Java was eight years ago. Is anyone else wondering where we’ll be in another eight years … or two?

How to use Python’s py launcher for Windows
Get to know the two little letters that make Python so much more useful.

Go vs. Python: How to choose
Can’t decide between Go’s speed and Python’s convenience? Here’s a pros and cons list to help you break the tie.

More good reads and Python updates elsewhere

JetBrains 2023 Python Developers Survey
Who’s using the snake these days, and what are they doing with it? The results are in! (Spoiler for data analysis, web development, and machine learning.)

Modin: A drop-in replacement for Pandas
Scale Pandas across multiple cores by replacing nothing but your imports.

Hy 1.0.0: A Lisp dialect for Python
This is the first production-ready release of a Lisp variant that compiles to Python, interoperates with it, and uses existing Python libraries.

Spyder 6 IDE is out
The latest version of the IDE for Python data scientists, written in Python, with new installers, better debugging, and tons of overall performance improvements. What’s not to like?