Linux 5.9 Performance Is Off To A Great Start With FSGSBASE Boost

FSGSBASE particularly helps out context switching heavy workloads like I/O and allowing user-space software to write to the x86_64 GSBASE without kernel interaction. That in turn has been of interest to Java and others. While going through patch review, we've benchmarked FSGSBASE patches at different points and found the performance benefits to be evident and helping in areas hurt by the likes of Spectre/Meltdown. FSGSBASE is supported on Intel CPUs since Ivy Bridge as well as newer AMD CPUs, where the performance is also helped. On Linux 5.9 where FSGSBASE is finally mainlined, it's enabled by default on supported CPUs. FSGSBASE can be disabled at kernel boot time via the "nofsgsbase" kernel option. On Linux 5.9+, looking for "fsgsbase" in the /proc/cpuinfo is the indicator whether FSGSBASE kernel usage is happening though note prior to 5.9 on supported CPUs the "fsgsbase" string is always present. For this article are some early data points of Linux 5.9 tested out-of-the-box on a Git snapshot and then again when booting that kernel image with "nofsgsbase" and repeating the tests. Via the Phoronix Test Suite various benchmarks relevant to FSGSBASE testing were carried out. Quick tests on both Intel Core and AMD Ryzen are done for this article while additional tests will be coming of Linux 5.9 over the weeks ahead -- 5.9-rc1 isn't even out until next weekend as marking the end of 5.9 features landing. Also: User Xattr Support Finally Landing For NFS In Linux 5.9 Please pull NFS server updates for v5.9

Python Programming

• Improve your focus and productivity with this Python tool

  Limiting distractions helps you focus on your work so you can increase productivity. Prioritizing your tasks, especially when you have too much on your plate, is one way to help you focus on the most important or high-attention things on your list. Another way to focus on tasks is Python Concentration, a helpful tool I found a few years ago for improving my time-management skills and increasing my focus. It is a simple Python 3 console utility that reduces distractions by blocking things like gaming, news sites, YouTube, and Netflix when I need to pay attention to work, but it also allows me to take timed breaks when I need them.

• PyDev of the Week: Julia Signell

  This week we welcome Julia Signell (@JSignell) as our PyDev of the Week! She helps develop Holoviz, a browser-based data visualization open source package for Python and Conda. Julia is also a co-organizer for PyDataPHL.

• Translating Strings in Python with TextBlob

  Text translation is a difficult computer problem that gets better and easier to solve every year. Big companies like Google are actively working on improving their text translation services which enables the rest of us to use them freely. Apart from their great personal use, these services can be used by developers through various APIs. This article is about TextBlob which uses one such API to perform text translation.

• Repeat repeat and more repeat with Python

  In this article, we are going to revisit CodeWars and solve a simple problem using Python. The problem is as follows. Write a Python function that will repeat the given string with the number of times that string supposed to be repeated. The solution to this question is as follows.

• How to Perform a Two-Sample T-test with Python: 3 Different Methods

  In this Python tutorial, you will learn how to perform a two-sample t-test with Python. First, you will learn about the t-test including the assumptions of the statistical test. Following this, you will learn how to check whether your data follow the assumptions.

• Talk Python to Me: #277 10 tips every Django developer should know

  We recently covered 10 tips that every Flask developer should know. But we left out a pretty big group in the Python web space: Django developers! And this one is for you. I invited Bob Belderbos, who's been running his SaaS business on Python and Django for several years now, to share his tips and tricks.

• Options for packaging your Python code: Wheels, Conda, Docker, and more

  How exactly do you package up your application so all of these are available? There’s Docker, of course, but there are actually many more options, from wheels to system packages to Conda to PEX to self-contained executables, each with their own tradeoffs. And that’s just a partial list! Given the large range of choices, there are too many to cover each in detail. Instead, this article will give a sense of the different categories, the pros and cons, and provide links to specific implementations within each category. For simplicity’s sake I will only cover running on Linux.

• Pass by Reference in Python: Background and Best Practices

  After gaining some familiarity with Python, you may notice cases in which your functions don’t modify arguments in place as you might expect, especially if you’re familiar with other programming languages. Some languages handle function arguments as references to existing variables, which is known as pass by reference. Other languages handle them as independent values, an approach known as pass by value.

• PSF GSoC students blogs: Extending CNNs beyond classification - Weekly Check-in 11

• PSF GSoC students blogs: GSoC Weekly Check-In #6

• PSF GSoC students blogs: Weekly Check-in #11

• PSF GSoC students blogs: Sixth Check-In

• PSF GSoC students blogs: Pagination, Privacy Policy, Bug Fixing and Testing in the User Story system in GSOC’20

• PSF GSoC students blogs: Weekly Check-in #6

• PSF GSoC students blogs: Weekly Check-in #11

• PSF GSoC students blogs: GSoC Week 11: Report.print()

  This week I was looking what is the best way to provide the users with a printable format. I am working on ReportLab solution. But I also worked on improving and adding some changes to HTML structure.

• PSF GSoC students blogs: Weekly Check In #6

  Finally the last stage of GSoC is here. I think a most viable product is ready leaving out a few bugs which are being worked on right now.

today's leftovers

• "Hey, DT. Why Arco Linux Instead Of Arch?" (Plus Other Questions Answered)

  In this lengthy rant video, I address a few questions that I've been receiving from viewers. I discuss fake DistroTube accounts on social media, my thoughts on PeerTube, my experience with LBRY, my thoughts on Arco vs Arch vs Artix, and what YouTubers have influenced my life.

• 2020-08-10 | Linux Headlines 186

  elementary OS teases big changes coming in version 6, RetroArch rolls out major search improvements with version 1.9, Microsoft releases Minecraft: Education Edition for Chromebooks, and the new Krita Scripting School website aims to help developers expand the painting application.

• R600 Gallium3D Now Has Compute Shaders Working With NIR

  If you are still rocking a pre-GCN AMD Radeon graphics card on the R600g driver for the HD 2000 through HD 6000 series, you really ought to consider upgrading in 2020, but otherwise at least from the open-source community there continues to be improvements.

• NVIDIA GeForce are teasing something for August 31, likely RTX 3000

  Ready for your next upgrade? NVIDIA think you might be and they're teasing what is most likely the GeForce RTX 3000 launch at the end of this month. We don't know what they're actually going to call them, although they will be based on the already revealed Ampere architecture announced back in May. It's probably safe to say RTX 3000 for now, going by the last two generations being 1000 and 2000 but NVIDIA may go for something more fancy this time.

• How to Learn Python in 21 Days?

  Before moving further, let’s have a brief introduction to Python Language. Python, designed by Guido Van Rossum in 1991, is a general-purpose programming language. The language is widely used in Web Development, Data Science, Machine Learning, and various other trending domains in the tech world. Moreover, Python supports multiple programming paradigms and has a huge set of libraries and tools. Also, the language offers various other key features such as better code readability, vast community support, fewer lines of code, and many more. Here in this article, we’ll discuss a thorough curriculum or roadmap that you need to follow to learn Python in just 21 days!

• This Week In Servo 135

  Last week we released Firefox Reality v1.2, which includes a smoother developer tools experience, along with support for Unity WebXR content and self-signed SSL certificates. See the full release notes for more information about the new release.