Appendix E. Getting Involved: The Python Community
Python is much more than a great programming language.
It’s a great community, too. The Python Community is welcoming, diverse, open, friendly, sharing, and giving. We’re just amazed that no one, to date, has thought to put that on a greeting card! Seriously, though, there’s more to programming in Python than the language. An entire ecosystem has grown up around Python, in the form of excellent books, blogs, websites, conferences, meetups, user groups, and personalities. In this appendix, we take a survey of the Python community and see what it has to offer. Don’t just sit around programming on your own: get involved!
BDFL: Benevolent Dictator for Life
Guido van Rossum is a Dutch programmer whose gift to the world is the Python programming language (which he started as a “hobby” in the last 1980s). The ongoing development and direction of the language is set by the Python core developers, of which Guido is but one (albeit a very important one). Guido’s title of Benevolent Dictator for Life is in recognition of the central role he continues to play in the day-to-day life of Python. If you see the letters BDFL in relation to Python, that’s a reference to Guido.
Guido is on the record as stating that the name “Python” is a nod (and a wink) toward the British television comedy troupe Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which helps explain the use of the name spam for many of the variables referred to in the Python docs.
Despite Guido’s leading role, he does not own Python: nobody does. However, the interests of the language are protected by the PSF.
PSF: The Python Sof t ware Foundation
The PSF is a nonprofit organization that looks after the interests of Python, and is run by a nominated/elected board of directors. The PSF promotes and sponsors the continued development of the language. This is from the PSF’s mission statement:
The mission of the Python Software Foundation is to promote, protect, and advance the Python programming language, and to support and facilitate the growth of a diverse and international community of Python programmers.
Anyone can join the PSF and get involved. See the PSF website for details:
Have your say: join the PSF.
One of the PSF’s major activities is involvement in (and the underwriting of) the annual Python conference: PyCon.
PyCon: The Python Conference
Anyone can attend (and speak at) PyCon. In 2016, Portland, Oregon, hosted the conference, with thousands of Python developers in attendance (the previous two PyCons were held in Montreal, Canada). PyCon is the largest Python conference, but not the only one. You’ll find Python conferences across the globe, ranging in size from small, regional conferences (tens of attendees), through national conferences (hundreds of attendees), up to the likes of EuroPython (thousands of attendees).
Get involved: attend PyCon.
To see if there’s a PyCon near you, search for the word “PyCon” together with the name of your nearest city (or the country you live in). Chances are, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what you find. Attending a local PyCon is a great way to meet and interact with like- minded developers. Many of the talks and sessions at the various PyCons are recorded: pop over to YouTube and type “PyCon” for an idea of what’s available to view.
A Tolerant Community: Respect for Diversit
Of all the programming conferences that exist today, PyCon was one of the first to introduce and insist on a Code of Conduct. You can read the 2016 Code of Conduct here:
Such a development is a very good thing. More and more, the smaller regional PyCons are adopting the Code of Conduct, too, which is also very welcome. A community grows to be strong and inclusive when there are clear guidelines about what’s acceptable and what isn’t, and the Code of Conduct helps to make sure all the world’s PyCons are as welcoming as they can be.
In addition to striving to ensure everyone is welcome, a number of initiatives attempt to increase the representation of specific groups within the Python community, especially where—traditionally—such groups have been underrepresented. The best-known of these is PyLadies, which was established per their mission to help “more women become active participants and leaders in the Python open source community.” If you’re lucky, there’s a PyLadies “chapter” near you: find out by starting your search from the PyLadies website:
Just like the Python community, PyLadies started out small, but has very quickly grown to have global reach (which is truly inspirational).
Encourage and support diversity within the Python community.
Come for the language, stay for the community
Many programmers new to Python comment on how inclusive the Python community is. A lot of this attitude stems from Guido’s guiding hand and example: firm, yet benevolent. There are other leading lights, too, and plenty of inspirational stories.
It doesn’t get much more inspirational than Naomi Ceder’s talk at EuroPython (which was repeated at other regional conferences, including PyCon Ireland). Here’s a link to Naomi’s talk, which we encourage you to watch:
Naomi’s talk surveys a life in Python, and discusses how the community supports diversity, and how there’s always more work for everyone to do.
One way to learn more about a community is to listen to some of the podcasts generated by its participants. We discuss two Python podcasts next.
Python Podcasts
There are podcasts on everything these days. Within the Python community, there are two we feel are well worth subscribing and listening to. Whether it’s something to listen to while driving, cycling, running, or chilling out, these podcasts are both deserving of your attention:
Talk Python to Me: https://talkpython.fm
Podcast.__init__: http://pythonpodcast.com
Follow both of these podcasts on Twitter, tell your friends about them, and give the producers of these podcasts your full support. Both Talk Python To Me and Podcast.__init__ are produced by regular members of the Python community for the benefit of all of us (and not for profit).
Python Newsletters
If podcasts aren’t your thing, but you still want to keep up with what’s happening in the Python world, there are three weekly newsletters that can help:
Pycoder’s Weekly: http://pycoders.com
Python Weekly: http://www.pythonweekly.com
Import Python: http://importpython.com/newsletter
These curated newsletters provide links to all types of material: blogs, vlogs, articles, books, videos, talks, new modules, and projects. And their weekly announcements arrive right to your email inbox. So, go ahead and sign up.
As well as a foundation, multiple conferences, subgroups like PyLadies, codes of conduct, recognition of diversity, podcasts, and newsletters, Python also has its very own notion of Zen.
The Zen of Python
Many moons ago, Tim Peters (one of Python’s early leading lights) sat down and wondered: what is it that makes Python Python?
The answer came to Tim as The Zen of Python, which you can read by starting any version of the interpreter and typing the following incantation into the >>> prompt:
import thisWe’ve done this for you, and shown the output of the above line of code in the screenshot at the bottom of this page. Be sure to read The Zen of Python at least once a month.
Many have tried to compress The Zen of Python into something a little easier to digest. None other than xkcd has given it a go. If you’re connected to the Internet, type this line of code into your >>> prompt to see (quite literally) how xkcd got on:
import antigravity
