Jump Into It¶
Getting started as a contributor to CPython can feel a bit overwhelming. Where to start, who to ask, and what tools to use remind us that there are lots of details.
A plan, just like learning to play an instrument or sing, can make the journey smoother. In music, one is always learning and refining one’s skills. One key is to begin playing and listening immediately and then build up mastery over time.
Let’s see how the plan would look for CPython:
Method and Sheet Music¶
Python Developer’s Guide¶
- Python Developer’s Guide
- Official documentation on how to contribute to CPython.
- Quickstart
Steps for getting the source code and running the tests. Three concise steps have three one-line commands to:
- Get the source
- Build the source
- Run the tests
Go ahead. Give it a try.
Helpful ‘Official’ Documentation¶
- Python Developer FAQ
- Q&A on Communications, Version Control, SSH, General topics
- Core Developer Responsibilities
Some reponsibilities of core developers to the community:
- Be a good person.
- Please be prompt in responding to questions.
- Please list what areas you want to be considered an expert in the Experts Index.
- Have fun.
- Experts Index
- A guide to developers and their expertise and interests in Stdlib, Tools, Platforms, and Miscellaneous.
- Developer Log
- Developers with commit privileges from April 2005.
Release information¶
- PEPs Python Enhancement Proposals
- Upcoming release content and timelines can be found here.
Communication¶
- Mailing Lists
- IRC
- Blogs
Books¶
Videos¶
Brian Curtin The Development of Python and You http://pyvideo.org/video/432/pycon-2011–the-development-of-python-and-you Couple of years to core developer Why? Dive deeper into the code 38 responses easier to maintain upstream patches learning from smart people Guido challenge excitement software widely deployed python installed understand technologies better than day job give back why wouldn’t i contribute
Who? Anybody Around world 138 committers CPython 2010 62 active +20 new devs 2009 +9 people added Time - bottleneck
How? Dev Guide Dr. Brett Cannon PSF grant 2 months/ porting guide 8:34 get the source hginit.com hgbook
Building the source Building the docs - restructured text Testing - run the regression tests Bug regrtest resource warning 19:00 Buildbots
Anna Ravenscroft You can be a speaker at PyCon http://pyvideo.org/video/1728/you-can-be-a-speaker-at-pycon
Eric Araujo How You Can Contribute to Python http://pyvideo.org/video/1578/how-you-can-contribute-to-python Documentation