Ayman Hourieh

A while ago I came across the Python Challenge. It is a series of programming challenges that require writing short programs in order to advance through levels. The creator(s) of the site put a lot of effort into it. The challenges are a lot of fun to solve, and the whole thing is very addictive.

If you are interested in learning the Python programming language, I suggest that you read the tutorial and start solving the challenges. It will be a great learning experience. If you do know Python, the challenges still have a lot to offer on the educational and fun fronts. It will make you explore a variety of libraries and programming domains.

Most of the levels can be solved with other programming languages as well. However, solving them in Python makes the programmer experience the beauty of Python, its power, and ease of use.

To sum up, if you enjoy programming, the Python Challenge is for you. I don't remember having so much fun on a website in a long time.

If you have a Linux workstation with a direct connection to the Internet, you need to take certain measures in order to protect it from attacks. This article contains configuration information and tips on how to protect your machine. The article is applicable to all popular Linux distributions.

Subversion is a version control system that is widely used by many Open Source projects such as Apache and GCC. Subversion started as a project to implement features missing in CVS. Subversion commands are very similar to CVS. It's very easy to switch for CVS users. Most of the time it's a matter of replacing cvs with svn. The following is a tutorial and cheat-sheet to help you get up and running in Subversion quickly.