Topics covered in this episode:

<ul>
	<li>* <a href="https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/postgresql-18-released-3142/?featured_on=pythonbytes">PostgreSQL 18 Released</a>*</li>
<li>* <a href="https://nedbatchelder.com/blog/202509/testing_is_better_than_dsa.html?featured_on=pythonbytes">Testing is better than DSA (Data Structures and Algorithms)</a>*</li>
<li>* <a href="https://pyrefly.org/en/docs/IDE-features/?featured_on=pythonbytes">Pyrefly in Cursor/PyCharm/VSCode/etc</a>*</li>
<li>* <a href="https://www.better-simple.com/django/2025/09/17/playwright-pytest-that-brings-me-joy/?featured_on=pythonbytes">Playwright & pytest techniques that bring me joy</a>*</li>
<li>Extras</li>
<li>Joke</li>

</ul><a href='https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFL48VM_8e4' style='font-weight: bold;'data-umami-event="Livestream-Past" data-umami-event-episode="451">Watch on YouTube</a>

About the show

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<ul>
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Connect with the hosts

<ul>
<li>Michael: <a href="https://fosstodon.org/@mkennedy">@mkennedy@fosstodon.org</a> / <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/mkennedy.codes?featured_on=pythonbytes">@mkennedy.codes</a> (bsky)</li>
<li>Brian: <a href="https://fosstodon.org/@brianokken">@brianokken@fosstodon.org</a> / <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/brianokken.bsky.social?featured_on=pythonbytes">@brianokken.bsky.social</a></li>
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</ul>

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Michael #1: <a href="https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/postgresql-18-released-3142/?featured_on=pythonbytes">PostgreSQL 18 Released</a>

<ul>
<li>PostgreSQL 18 is out (Sep 25, 2025) with a focus on faster text handling, async I/O, and easier upgrades.</li>
<li>New async I/O subsystem speeds sequential scans, bitmap heap scans, and vacuum by issuing concurrent reads instead of blocking on each request.</li>
<li>Major-version upgrades are smoother: <code>pg_upgrade</code> retains planner stats, adds parallel checks via <code>-jobs</code>, and supports faster cutovers with <code>-swap</code>.</li>
<li>Smarter query performance lands with skip scans on multicolumn B-tree indexes, better <code>OR</code> optimization, incremental-sort merge joins, and parallel GIN index builds.</li>
<li>Dev quality-of-life: virtual generated columns enabled by default, a <code>uuidv7()</code> generator for time-ordered IDs, and <code>RETURNING</code> can expose both <code>OLD</code> and <code>NEW</code>.</li>
<li>Security gets an upgrade with native OAuth 2.0 authentication; MD5 password auth is deprecated and TLS controls expand.</li>
<li>Text operations get a boost via the new <code>PG_UNICODE_FAST</code> collation, faster <code>upper</code>/<code>lower</code>, a <code>casefold()</code> helper, and clearer collation behavior for LIKE/FTS.</li>
</ul>

Brian #2: <a href="https://nedbatchelder.com/blog/202509/testing_is_better_than_dsa.html?featured_on=pythonbytes">Testing is better than DSA (Data Structures and Algorithms)</a>

<ul>
<li>Ned Batchelder</li>
<li>If you need to grind through DSA problems to get your first job, then of course, do that, but if you want to prepare yourself for a career, and also stand out in job interviews, learn how to write tests.</li>
<li>Testing is a skill you’ll use constantly, will make you stand out in job interviews, and isn’t taught well in school (usually).</li>
<li>Testing code well is not obvious. It’s a puzzle and a problem to solve.</li>
<li>It gives you confidence and helps you write better code.</li>
<li>Applies everywhere, at all levels.</li>
<li>Notes from Brian
<ul>
<li>Most devs suck at testing, so being good at it helps you stand out very quickly.</li>
<li>Thinking about a system and how to test it often very quickly shines a spotlight on problem areas, parts with not enough specification, and fuzzy requirements. This is a good thing, and bringing up these topics helps you to become a super valuable team member.</li>
<li>High level tests need to be understood by key engineers on a project. Even if tons of the code is AI generated. Even if many of the tests are, the people understanding the requirements and the high level tests are quite valuable.</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

Michael #3: <a href="https://pyrefly.org/en/docs/IDE-features/?featured_on=pythonbytes">Pyrefly in Cursor/PyCharm/VSCode/etc</a>

<ul>
<li>Install the VSCode/Cursor extension or PyCharm plugin, see https://pyrefly.org/en/docs/IDE/</li>
<li>Brian spoke about Pyrefly in <a href="https://pythonbytes.fm/episodes/show/433/dev-in-the-arena">#433: Dev in the Arena</a></li>
<li>I’ve subsequently had the team on Talk Python: #523: Pyrefly: Fast, IDE-friendly typing for Python (podcast version coming in a few weeks, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4RKxl_giH4">see video</a> for now.)</li>
<li>My experience has been Pyrefly changes the feel of the editor, give it a try. But disable the regular language server extension.</li>
</ul>

Brian #4: <a href="https://www.better-simple.com/django/2025/09/17/playwright-pytest-that-brings-me-joy/?featured_on=pythonbytes">Playwright & pytest techniques that bring me joy</a>

<ul>
<li>Tim Shilling</li>
<li>“I’ve been working with playwright more often to do end to end tests. As a project grows to do more with HTMX and Alpine in the markup, there’s less unit and integration test coverage and a greater need for end to end tests.”</li>
<li>Tim covers some cool E2E techniques
<ul>
<li>Open new pages / tabs to be tested</li>
<li>Using a pytest marker to identify playwright tests</li>
<li>Using a pytest marker in place of fixtures</li>
<li>Using page.pause() and Playwright’s debugging tool</li>
<li>Using assert_axe_violations to prevent accessibility regressions</li>
<li>Using page.expect_response() to confirm a background request occurred</li>
</ul></li>
<li>From Brian
<ul>
<li>Again, with more and more lower level code being generated, and many unit tests being generated (shakes head in sadness), there’s an increased need for high level tests.</li>
<li>Don’t forget API tests, obviously, but if there’s a web interface, it’s gotta be tested.</li>
<li>Especially if the primary user experience is the web interface, building your Playwright testing chops helps you stand out and let’s you test a whole lot of your system with not very many tests.</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

Extras

Brian:

<ul>
<li><a href="https://samwho.dev/big-o/?featured_on=pythonbytes">Big O - By Sam Who</a>
<ul>
<li>Yes, take Ned’s advice and don’t focus so much on DSA, focus also on learning to test.</li>
<li>However, one topic you should be comfortable with in algortithm-land is Big O, at least enough to have a gut feel for it. And this article is really good enough for most people.</li>
<li>Great graphics, demos, visuals. As usual, great content from Sam Who, and a must read for all serious devs.</li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="https://pythoninsider.blogspot.com/2025/09/python-3140rc3-is-go.html?m=1&featured_on=pythonbytes">Python 3.14.0rc3 has been available since Sept 18.</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://peps.python.org/pep-0745/?featured_on=pythonbytes">Python 3.14.0 final scheduled for Oct 7</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="https://www.djangoproject.com/weblog/2025/sep/17/django-60-alpha-released/?featured_on=pythonbytes">Django 6.0 alpha 1 released</a>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://code.djangoproject.com/wiki/Version6.0Roadmap?featured_on=pythonbytes">Django 6.0 final scheduled for Dec 3</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a href="https://pythontest.com?featured_on=pythonbytes">Python Test</a> Static hosting update
<ul>
<li>Some interesting discussions around setting up my own server, but this seems like it might be yak shaving procrastination research when I really should be writing or coding. So I’m holding off until I get some writing projects and a couple SaaS projects further along.</li>
</ul></li>
</ul>

Joke: <a href="https://x.com/PR0GRAMMERHUM0R/status/1967317478238757032?featured_on=pythonbytes">Always be backing up</a>

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