Top 5: Projects for Raspberry Pi at home, how to write fast Python, and more

In this week's top 5, we highlight projects for Raspberry Pi at home, how to write fast and thread-safe Python, 12 ways to study a new programming language, a Linux-friendly amplifier for listening to music, and 3 open source boilerplate web design templates.

Top 5 articles of the week

5. 3 open source boilerplate web design templates

Jason Baker, an editor at Opensource.com, writes that "today, few people design their web pages from scratch. Most opt to use a pre-built template design, custom fit for their content management system of choice." To avoid reinventing the wheel and hand coding your website, Baker suggests using HTML boilerplate templates and frameworks. In this article, he introduces readers to Bootstrap, HTML5 Boilerplate, and Skeleton.

4. A Linux-friendly DAC and headphone amplifier for listening to music

Do you keep your music library in digital form on your computer? Or maybe you have a dedicated music server? Chris Hermansen brings us tips in his latest Open Music column for choosing a digital-to-analog converter well-suited for your operating system in terms of compatibility, features, and sound quality.

3. 12 ways to study a new programming language

What do you do when you decide you want to learn a new programming language? E. Dunham, a DevOps Engineer for Mozilla Research, outlines 12 techniques for studying and learning your new language of choice.

2. Grok the GIL: How to write fast and thread-safe Python

A. Jesse, a staff engineer at MongoDB, explores the GIL, or global interpreter lock. He dives into the CPython interpreter source code to find out exactly what the GIL is, why Python has one, and how it affects your multi-threaded programs.

1. 5 projects for Raspberry Pi at home

Ben Nuttall of the Raspberry Pi Foundation walks us through using the Raspberry Pi as a media center, as a secure gateway for access to computers and devices on your home network, as a pet camera (which Ben uses for his pet turtle), to control IoT home automation devices, and for anonymous internet browsing.