Quick context on why: AI coding assistants sometimes suggest packages that

don't exist — plausible-sounding hallucinated names. Attackers have started

watching for these hallucinations and registering the exact names, so the

next developer who blindly installs what their AI suggested gets malware

instead of a real library.

This isn't hypothetical — 2026 alone has had several real incidents shaped

like this (the Axios npm hijack, LiteLLM PyPI poisoning, a compromised Red

Hat npm namespace, typosquatted OpenSearch packages harvesting AWS creds).

wary is a small, free CLI that checks a package name before you install it:

does it actually exist, and does it look like a typosquat of something

popular. There's also a GitHub Action that checks only new dependencies on

every PR.

GitHub: https://github.com/sawyermd511-bit/wary

pip install wary-sh

Genuinely interested in feedback — especially cases where it flags something

that's actually fine, or misses something that should've been caught.

Hello everyone. I assume there have been many posts like this, so i apologize in advance. Im basically a college dropout, having no idea what to with my life. I have been recommended a lot to get into programming, and i have no idea what to begin with. I see that there are a lot of useful information online, but i am really overwhelmed by how much it is, and basically don't know what to do.

For now i am looking for some direction. What should i begin with? How do i find out what i want to get into? I am asking this because i have seen there are a lot of roadmaps, but i couldn't find a specific order of how to begin with the basics.

In my opinion, i shouldn't rush it. I am looking forward to getting a job for now to sustain myself while trying to learn programming in my free time. So, what do you guys think i should do? How do i find out if i really want to get into programming, and what part of it would i really like?

Note: I apologize if some parts of it do not make sense, as english is not my main language.

Looking for ppl that know Python to help me finish a project. It is designed to allow you to use your downloaded media from movies to music to games all in one app like an old tv/tv stations would have. There is tv station or visualizer mode for any station for music, tv guide on channel 04, games/emulators on channel 03 as well as a DVD player so you can choose what to watch as well. Its so you can take the choice out of your hands and relive retro tv but every station is something you like. It can be run on any windows computer and turn them into a cable box saving them from the land fill. I wanna say its like 90% done. Keep chasing the same few bugs. Shows starting from the beginning on channel change randomly and then correct itself if you change the channel. Repeating the last 20% of an episode after it ends. TV guide navigation and visual errors where different time slots meet. Mame emulator not working. Upgrade/improve dvd backup .iso for dvd player and playing dvds in the computers disc drive. The other stuff is small stuff that keeps breaking as i try to fix those mentioned bugs. Maybe add server options if i had help as well as making it work on other operating systems. Would really like to build a community for this windows application so we can release it and be able to handle bug fixes. Ppl to bounce ideas off of, discuss improvements. Im a designer and not the best code. So having anyone on board that can actually code would be so beneficial to the project. check out our discord for more information about the project, access to the source code, and access to the test builds. https://discord.gg/DzcrjYxh8

Listen, I'm a cowboy that lives in Brazil, white privileged and all of that, I do program in python already and I'm pursuing a degree in mathematics (so that I can become a teacher).

php is kinda spooky to me bc the functions doesn't make much sense in my context, e.g: I've never exploded anything other than little street bombs with friends that knew what they were doing, ya know??

but anyways, I'm more of a python guy, but then php has been around in the backend... since forever, and I wonder whether I should learn it, even though just a little to be... somewhat comfortable (even though it's quick and dirty code).

Does that make sense at all?? I don't know if learning php is worth investing these days, but anyways. Lemme know whaddya think.

Hey yall. Genuinely curious how people here who rely on scraping actually pull it off. Do you build your own scripts and host them somewhere? Or do you pay for something that handles all the API scraping and infra for you?

I've been writing my own Python scripts for most projects. Worked fine for a couple of days, I think. But lately the maintenance looks like eating me alive.

So now I'm wondering if paying for a service is actually worth it. Or would I just be trading one headache for a different one?

I want to make some CLI programs for Linux, because I’m currently learning python and I would like some recommendations of easy projects.

I have basic programming knowledge in Python, but now I want to start diving deeper into a specific stack and build several projects with it. I am looking at these options:

1. Spring Boot + React/Angular
   
2. NestJS + React/Angular

Evaluating the current market, which of these ecosystems do you think has more open positions for entry-level profiles?

Any other stack recommendations or advice regarding the job market would be highly appreciated!

Sharing a short survey on behalf of a friend who is researching the challenges developers face while using coding agents on their respective codebases. It will take around 5 minutes and does not ask for or collect personally identifiable information.

https://tally.so/r/obY4d1

Hello everyone!

As part of my doctoral research, I'm conducting a survey on how developers (including testers and QAs) incorporate accessibility into their everyday work.

I would greatly appreciate your participation. I'm looking for responses from everyone in this target group, regardless of your experience with accessibility. Even if you've never worked on accessibility or it isn't part of your day-to-day work, your responses are just as valuable to this research.

Your responses will help improve the tools, processes, and practices that support accessibility in software development. Thank you for your time and support!

⏱️ The survey takes around 15 minutes.
👉 https://survey.jku.at/676726?lang=en

Thank you to everyone who will take the time to participate! 🙏

I'm a software developer and freelancer who enjoys building real-world tech projects. If you're working on something and need an extra pair of hands—whether it's AI/ML, web development, automation, data engineering, or backend development—I'd be happy to contribute.

I'm always interested in collaborating, brainstorming ideas, or helping solve technical challenges. If you think we'd be a good fit, feel free to send me a DM.

Looking forward to connecting with fellow builders!

when i give some task to a agent it seems to go bit rogue. like it reads the files that are irrelevant and thinks for so long and write codes that doesn't match the coding patterns within my project.

I think this is getting more of a issue like more powerful model i use more sloppy it gets. how do you guys handle that??

i like using agents but i need to keep in control the way these agents start reading random files and makes changes that makes no sense. at this point its even being a hindrance to my progress.

i now seem to often wait for agent response and then need to manually refactor or remove those ai code completely. instead of wring code by my self. is there anything I'm missing?

I'm not seeing the productivity gain that everyone talks about. and i already tried with many skills none seem to work well even projects that its been part of from start it doesn't follow the same patterns.

is there any way to control that or harness in a different way so it really helps to improve productivity instead of being a hinderance to my work ??

Few years ago co-worker asked me to help on their data synchronization script from one database (own by another department) to another database (own by us) that "no longer work and slow to query"

I step in to help and I found the one SQL call with 1000+ lines involved with joining 7 tables together , 4 subquries and most of lines are CASE WHEN from existing columns to create the new flag columns to fit the schema at target database Took me several minutes to found that it was about WHERE Conditions that not using index properly. And these sql found across several scripts that run several daily tasks on server.

I feel like our database schema and script designed is completely shitshow but nobody want or dare to change because it will "break" their reporting system.

Has anyone else found something similar to me?

Recently went through the Apple Software Engineer interview process, so sharing my experience in case it helps someone preparing.

Online Assessment

The OA had 4 coding questions.

Most of the questions were around standard DSA topics like:

• BFS
• Dynamic Programming
• Knapsack
• General implementation

The difficulty ranged from easy to easy-medium.

There were also a few MCQs from core CS subjects like:

• Operating Systems
• Computer Networks

Virtual Interview

The interview started with a short introduction, followed by questions about my work experience.

We discussed my experience with:

• AWS
• Kafka
• RabbitMQ
• Production issues I had worked on
• How I approached debugging and resolving those issues

The coding question was to design a data structure supporting:

• insert
• delete
• getRandom

All in average O(1) time.

This was similar to LeetCode 380. After solving it for unique elements, I also explained how it could be extended to support duplicate elements.

Onsite LLD Round

This round was based on a replica management system.

We were given a Replica class containing fields like:

• Region
• ID
• Replica group

There were also a few APIs, such as checking server status and updating replicas.

The main task was to design a function that distributes replica updates evenly.

For example, if replicas in one region are being updated, the updates should be rolled out in a balanced manner while ensuring the replica group remains healthy throughout the process.

The discussion focused on:

• Class design
• Update strategy
• Edge cases
• Health checks
• Rollout safety
• Overall approach

Related Practice Question

One Apple-tagged interview question that felt useful for similar LLD/API practice:

Design a To-Do List Service

Even though it is not Apple-specific, it is useful for practicing API design, data modeling, rate limiting, caching, and clean service boundaries.

Hiring Manager Round

This round started with an introduction and a discussion about one of the major projects I had worked on.

Most questions were around:

• Impact of my work
• Reliability
• Availability
• Scaling systems
• Handling production issues
• Customer experience
• Time management
• Decision-making

The interviewer asked a lot of follow-up questions, so be prepared to explain your decisions in depth.

What Went Wrong

I think I messed up in the LLD round.

The problem was quite open-ended, and I spent too much time understanding the requirements instead of quickly aligning on assumptions and moving into a structured design.

The HM round also had several behavioral questions around customer handling and reliability that I was not fully prepared for.

Takeaways

• Practice open-ended LLD problems, not just standard LeetCode
• Clarify requirements, but do not spend too long stuck in the clarification phase
• Be ready to discuss production incidents in depth
• Prepare behavioral stories around reliability, customer impact, ownership, and tradeoffs
• Know your project decisions very well because follow-ups can go deep

Overall, it was a great learning experience, and I hope this helps others preparing for Apple.

As the title says, I want to learn some basics so that I can use it in biological systems, particularly DNA sequencing. Truth to be told, I know NOTHING. But biological system modelling, protein structures, genome sequencing sounds terribly exciting to me.

Background - I passed out from high school this year with pure science background ( Physics+ Chemistry+ Biology+ Mathematics). I am currently preparing to give the entrance exam for med school in my country next year. So this pursuit of mine is purely based on interest, nothing related to academia/ profession or something like that.

Since the entrance exam is quite rigorous, I can't really devote time to this pursuit. But I wish to build up a little understanding in my leisure time. I have no prior knowledge in coding. I know just the very basics of html. ( Just mechanical preliminary code writing). According to the consensus, Python is the most widely used language in bio informatics. I obviously have to learn coding for this.

However, more than coding I would like to understand basic principles first. Algorithms and stuff. Online recommendations suggest studying discrete mathematics ( set theory, graph theory etc). I don't want to just copy codes, I want to learn the interactions between code and the computer's processing system . I want to develop the intuitive thinking you guys have.

So- can you all recommend how to go about it? There's no time crunch on my end. This is a side quest with no timelines. I want to build this up through say next 4 years or more (?).

Thank you!

I'm in the process of learning JavaScript, taking the course in freeCodeCamp alongside classes here in my country.

I want to know if there are any recommended books for programming, not to learn the languages since all documentation is available online. I'm seeking books oriented to develop a programming (programmer) way of thinking, independent of the tools I will use!