Optimized apps and websites start with well-built code. The truth, however, is that you don't need to worry about performance in 90% of your code, and probably 100% for many scripts. It doesn't matter ...

But in many cases, it doesn’t have to be an either/or proposition. Properly optimized, Python applications can run with surprising speed — perhaps not Java or C fast, but fast enough for Web ...

Python is a language that seems easy to do, especially for prototyping, but make sure not to make these common mistakes when coding.

This article is adapted from an edition of our Off the Charts newsletter originally published in October 2021. Off the Charts is a weekly, subscriber-only guide to The Economist’s award-winning data ...