The truth about Python’s AI-powered popularity surge

Python’s popularity is surging thanks to AI, but also its power and ease of use. Editable installs for Python packages and the newly refined type hinting in Python 3.14 are just two examples, and the brand new, in-beta installation manager also helps. We get you started with all three—and more—in this week’s Python Report.

Top picks for Python readers on InfoWorld

Python popularity boosted by AI coding assistants: TiobePython and AI together make a power duo, with each driving the popularity of the other. Python’s ranking in the Tiobe index continues to climb, and AI is one of its biggest use cases. (But wait—do we also spy Perl making a surprise comeback?)

How to use editable installs for Python packagesEver wished you could edit Python packages installed locally without reinstalling them? Let Python’s editable installs point the way.

Get started with Python type hintsType hints in Python are optional, but add new levels of readability and automated linting for correctness. Learn how annotations work, including the powerful lazy evaluation features added in Python 3.14.

Quick-start guide to the new Python Installation ManagerInstalling, managing, and updating Python installations on Microsoft Windows just got a whole lot easier. Here’s how to get started with the Python Installation Manager, currently in beta.

More good reads and Python updates elsewhere

PEP 798: Unpacking in ComprehensionsTake a look at this newly proposed Python feature, which would allow an easy syntax for unpacking iterables in a list/set/dictionary comprehension.

PEP 802: Display Syntax for the Empty SetHere’s another new Python feature proposal: A syntax for empty sets that’s more concise (and consistent) than set().

UV patches a dangerous ZIP-handling issueThe team behind uv patched an issue that would have allowed delivery of malicious payloads via a specially crafted .zip archive. Fortunately, the issue was never exploited.

The design of the Numba v2 compilerNumba uses JIT compiling, powered by LLVM, to generate fast math code. Previously, if you wanted to make sense of Numba’s internals, you had to trudge through the source code. Now, this in-progress online book walks you through the details.